A Proper Lent
Joel 2:12-13
"Rend your hearts and not your garments."
How well the prophet Joel knows us. He gets straight to the point. A proper spiritual discipline has far more to do with the heart than with appearances. Jesus knew Joel well, apparently, since there is the lengthy segment of the Sermon on the Mount that deals with appearances vs. true practice--do not pray in public, but in private; do not scowl while fasting, focus on not eating by itself; do not make a great show of your offerings, but just give and be done with it; and so on.
This counsel is challenging for us who live in a materialistic culture. So much of our world is for show. Houses, cars, and yards become statements of how we are doing. Clothes make the man and define the woman. Ironically, our singers are known more for their dance routines than their actual singing, if the Super Bowl halftime show is any indication. We build towers to commerce. We spend a fortune on cosmetics. It is so very easy to slide into the habit and routine of defining worth, value, and meaning by appearance.
But God wants more from us than that.
God wants our heart and soul.
A lot of us have grown cynical about the celebrity apology--you know the ones I mean--a star gets caught with his pants down or a starlet offends a sweep of society with a boneheaded remark, and when Twitter erupts in uproar and the celebrity's face is on the cable news shows, said celebrity in the mandatory baseball cap and dark glasses sits behind a microphone, mumbling, "I am sorry if anyone was offended by my remarks (actions/behavior/being)." In other words, the celebrity is sorry that someone else got mad and reacted; i.e., they didn't do anything wrong, but the public that responded was out of line.
Oh, boy...
God wants a bit more from us.
God wants honest contrition for when we run afoul of God's hopes, intent, and love for us. It does no good to rend our garments while our heart remains untouched. The truest form of confession is when we honestly and openly admit that we messed up, that we hurt someone and ourselves, and that what we said or did carries consequences that will need to be remedied. That lays the foundation for reconciliation and redemption.
A mentor of mine in ministry once wisely counseled that very often the best opening for a meeting with a troubled parishioner is, "I'm sorry." Not elucidation or exemptions; just a simple apology. That clears away the rubbish and gives a place to start on rectifying a situation.
And that is what salvation is all about, isn't it? We want to be freed of the things that separate us from each other and from God. We want to look to tomorrow hopefully, not dreadfully. We want to know it will be all right to meet people near to us. We want to know that all is not lost. We want to know the amazing grace of God. We want to taste and see that the Lord is good.
So, listen to Joel. He knows what he's talking about. Let's move beyond keeping up appearances, and get to the heart of the matter.
"Rend your hearts and not your garments."
How well the prophet Joel knows us. He gets straight to the point. A proper spiritual discipline has far more to do with the heart than with appearances. Jesus knew Joel well, apparently, since there is the lengthy segment of the Sermon on the Mount that deals with appearances vs. true practice--do not pray in public, but in private; do not scowl while fasting, focus on not eating by itself; do not make a great show of your offerings, but just give and be done with it; and so on.
This counsel is challenging for us who live in a materialistic culture. So much of our world is for show. Houses, cars, and yards become statements of how we are doing. Clothes make the man and define the woman. Ironically, our singers are known more for their dance routines than their actual singing, if the Super Bowl halftime show is any indication. We build towers to commerce. We spend a fortune on cosmetics. It is so very easy to slide into the habit and routine of defining worth, value, and meaning by appearance.
But God wants more from us than that.
God wants our heart and soul.
A lot of us have grown cynical about the celebrity apology--you know the ones I mean--a star gets caught with his pants down or a starlet offends a sweep of society with a boneheaded remark, and when Twitter erupts in uproar and the celebrity's face is on the cable news shows, said celebrity in the mandatory baseball cap and dark glasses sits behind a microphone, mumbling, "I am sorry if anyone was offended by my remarks (actions/behavior/being)." In other words, the celebrity is sorry that someone else got mad and reacted; i.e., they didn't do anything wrong, but the public that responded was out of line.
Oh, boy...
God wants a bit more from us.
God wants honest contrition for when we run afoul of God's hopes, intent, and love for us. It does no good to rend our garments while our heart remains untouched. The truest form of confession is when we honestly and openly admit that we messed up, that we hurt someone and ourselves, and that what we said or did carries consequences that will need to be remedied. That lays the foundation for reconciliation and redemption.
A mentor of mine in ministry once wisely counseled that very often the best opening for a meeting with a troubled parishioner is, "I'm sorry." Not elucidation or exemptions; just a simple apology. That clears away the rubbish and gives a place to start on rectifying a situation.
And that is what salvation is all about, isn't it? We want to be freed of the things that separate us from each other and from God. We want to look to tomorrow hopefully, not dreadfully. We want to know it will be all right to meet people near to us. We want to know that all is not lost. We want to know the amazing grace of God. We want to taste and see that the Lord is good.
So, listen to Joel. He knows what he's talking about. Let's move beyond keeping up appearances, and get to the heart of the matter.
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