A Timeless Season
Lent for the REST of us.
Lent comes at a good time in the world right now; as nation lifts up sword against nation, as there are wars and rumours of wars; as conflicts rage within nations.
It is lent.
We sit and listen.
God speaks in mystery.
We are called to sit together.
The world is wrapped in silence.
The planet holds her breath.
“Shhhhhh,” she says.
Be still.
Still.
Be.
But the clamor rages on around us and beneath us.
It demands attention. Do we pay? Do we pay the toll?
Shall we pay the gangsters for protection?
Shall we try to call 911 and hope for rescue?
Shall we measure our claws and teeth to see
if they are adequate to the task?
Or shall we sit in silence in this storm and,
Hear the words.
”Be not afraid.”
WHAT?????
How does that work? Really. Really?? Who are you kidding Jesus.
Am I supposed to take THAT seriously?
Good friends have turned on us.
Those we thought were almost family,
Or actual family,
Suddenly turned distant. Hard. Transactional.
“What is in it for ME?”
Who are these strangers? Who are these calculators without hearts?
And what have you done with my good friend and neighbour?
The world is strange and cold.
These are the days of Job,
Sitting on the ash heap,
Trying to lance the wounds
Inflicted by a “best friend.”
Cold.
Dark.
Frightening.
It is never easy to know the course in such a time.
Perils lie in every direction.
The footing is loose. There is little purchase for a push or for a pull away.
So we plant our feet as best we can but what holds us is not our strength:
It is our locked arms. It is our held hands.
Those friends who came to sit with Job started well.
They sat.
They shut their mouths.
and
“They didn’t say a mumblin’ word.”
Brilliant.
But the time does come to rise and speak.
But not like Job’s friends did.
No justifying the disaster.
No blaming the victim.
No questioning of the the goodness of a friend well proven.
WE. WILL. SPEAK. TOGETHER.
Words of comfort.
Words of peace.
Strength.
Encouragement.
SOLIDARITY.
From the ashes of lent we will rise but not in triumph.
We will rise in mutual aid.
We will rise in kindness.
We will rise together.
With friends.
With Allies.
In strength.
In hope.
In joy!
SOLIDARITY.
We have to speak the words of comfort.
We need to hear the words of encouragement.
And we will do the work.
We will take action to build our lives together.
The weak and the small over and against the dominant.
The “least of these” arm in arm and hand in hand against the powerful.
We will rise. The hungry and thirsty for righteousness.
And we will be satisfied.
For every empire looks permanent.
Every king looks un-defeatable.
Every great invading army looks like unnumbered sand upon the shore,
Until the wave comes.
And it is no more.
SOLIDARITY.
Never give up. Lent is here, but another season is on the way.
Be patient. Be strong. Be one. Let us sit together.
Until it is time to stand together.
SOLIDARITY.