by the Rev. Frances A. Hills, Rector
Text: Matthew 4:1-11
When I was a fairly new priest in Ohio, a woman called the church office. She was considering attending one of the services, but she knew next to nothing about the Episcopal Church. She didn’t know what to expect, so I told her about the service. Then she wanted to know what to wear. It was a working-class congregation, and I told her people would be there in anything from work clothes to coats and ties. I said, “Don’t worry about it, just come as you are.”
I was talking about clothes, but I think “Come as you are” is a good way for us to think about Lent. In a sense, Lent, (This church season in which we prepare for Easter) is like a 40-day “Come-as-you-are-party”! Has anyone ever been to a “Come-as-you-are-party?” It’s something teenagers used to do. They were usually picked up at their house early in the morning, so they had to “come-as-they-were”. I remember going to one once as an adult. It was on a Saturday evening, and the invitation said, just come wearing whatever you have on at 6 o’clock. I went with dirty fingernails and my rubber shoes because I’d been working in the garden all afternoon. So in Lent we have a 40-day (+Sundays) opportunity to “Come-as-we-are” to God.
It’s a chance to put away our Mardi Gras masks and costumes and bear our souls to the One who made us and already knows us, just as we are. Now there’s a sense in which “coming as we are” goes against what the world teaches about always looking good and appearing successful, because if we really “come-as-we-are,” confessing our sins, our grief, our doubts and failures; if we’re honest about the things that tempt us; if we tell God about where we’re broken, unsure and afraid…If we do that, it’s counter-cultural! (And frankly, it can be really invigorating!) If we “Come-as-we-really-are” to God, we’ll be able to shed our super-person, multi-tasking, perhaps even robotic selves, and celebrate our true HUMANITY! After all, it is God who made us human in the first place…So, I’d say God intends for us to be human!
What better time than Lent to get back to the real, fleshy, fallible person God knows and loves? We might even discover we know and love that person as well! We might find we like living without the mask and armor of “Super Person.” So how do we “get real” so we can “Come-as-we-are”? Of course the classic routes of the Church are prayer, fasting, alms-giving, study, self-examination and penance. These may be ancient ways, but I highly recommend them to 21st Century people.
What would it be like to set aside 15-minutes, half-an-hour, or even an hour each day to sit in silent prayer with your God? Or to take that time to read a passage of scripture and meditate on it. It just might help us get in touch with our own wonderful humanity and God’s awesome divinity. Or what would it be like to actually fast on Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent? I don’t mean not to eat at all but to reduce our intake somehow, and as our stomachs growl or we feel hungry, ask God, “What is it in my life I’m really hungry for?” We might be surprised at the answer.
Or what would it be like to give something extra—to help build a house for someone in need, to put food on a hungry person’s table, to contribute to the Heifer Project. In addition to giving something extra, what would it be like then to pray for the recipient of our gift, whether we know them or not? ‘Might be amazed at the gratitude we feel for the blessings of our lives and at the compassion we find we have for those in need.
What if we got out a spiritual book we’ve been meaning to read? If you’re like me you have a fairly large collection of these on your shelves! But what if we got out one of those books and set aside some time each day not only to read but also to reflect… perhaps even do some journaling? Our minds and hearts could be opened to new ways of understanding ourselves and our God. We might discover new ways of living our lives….as we really are.
And what if we did some real self-examination…Perhaps using as a guide the Great Commandment of Jesus…Love God. Love your neighbor. We could think about how we do that/or not in all the different areas of our lives. Or we could prayerfully go through the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20 or the “Decalogue” in the Book of Common Prayer).We could go through these and think about how we do or don’t measure up. Last week I took a 24-hour time of real Sabbath from Sunday afternoon until Monday afternoon. I realized how I often tend to treat that “keeping the Sabbath” Commandment as optional! God knows we’re human beings and knows we must have those regular times of rest and refreshment. God knows I’m not Super Woman and you are not Super Man or Super Woman! Remembering the Sabbath is a Commandment, NOT an Option! Another way to do self examination is to think of the temptations of Jesus in today’s Gospel. What are ways we may be tempted to think and act like bread and other material things are all we need? What are ways we may test God or nature? (Do we take unnecessary risks?) What, besides God, might we “fall down and worship” by giving it a very high priority in our lives? What are the priorities in our lives? One way to answer this is to look at our checkbooks and our appointment calendars. Where we spend our money and time can show us our real priorities. If you do some self-examination, please know I am available to talk with you and to offer the sacrament of Reconciliation, if that would be helpful.
In Lent we have a 40-day opportunity to “Come-as-we-are” to God. We can be naked before God and not ashamed. Yes we can! We can do it! We can be this honest and truthful because of God’s Grace. So, in these 40 days, let’s just do it. Let’s be that honest about our lives. We don’t have to do it alone. We can gather here each week for strength and nourishment. Then after the 40 days of Lent, we can come to church on Easter morning more alive, more real, and more ready to greet our Savior as He is…Alive. Risen. Risen indeed! Amen.
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