Day 40: Lent

DAY 40: LENT

The 40 Days of Lent ends this evening, with the opening of the Mass of the Lord's Supper and the beginning of the Sacred Triduum.  I end this 40 Boxes for 40 Days with a box of Lenten materials.
St. Benedict said that "Our lives should be an eternal Lent."  By this, he didn't mean that our lives should be all sackcloth and ashes.  In fact, the word Lent comes from the Old Engliush for "spring."  Our whole lives should be one of joyful anticipation of the opening up of all creation.  At the same time, our whole lives should be marked by the disciplines of prayer (communing with God), fasting (letting go of that which distracts us from God), and almsgiving (channeling our lives in service to the poor).  So even as we leave these 40 Days behind, we take with us what we have learned through our prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. 

As we leave Lent and enter the Sacred Triduum, let us pray that our lives will be an eternal Lent.

Just as a single offense brought condenmation to all, a single righteous act brought all acquittal and life. 
                                                                                              - Romans 5: 18

Day 39: Games

DAY 39: GAMES

A box of unused games sits in the corner of a closet, unused, unplayed.  Sometimes, I get so caught up in day-to-day activities, that I forget to celebrate the divine presence; I forget to play:

- to take a few minutes to play fetch with the dog,
- to take a ride through the neighborhood,
- to find delight in the simple things of life.

Thank you, God, for the gift of play.  May I never take it for granted.

The city shall be filled with boys and girls playing in the streets...Even if that should seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people, shall it in those days be impossible in my eyes also?
                                                                                                   Zechariah 8: 5-6

Day 38: A Cracked Pot

DAY 38: A CRACKED POT

I bought this large fiberglass pot about five years ago to collect rainwater for the garden.  It didn't survive all the freezing this winter.

A few years ago, I visited the town of Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed his first miracle: turning six jars of water (similar in size to this one) into wine.  As a former caterer, I know that if there is one day people want to go exactly as planned, it's usually a wedding day (news flash: it never does). 

I attended a retreat recently, where it was pointed out that Jesus' first miracle wasn't healing someone or bringing someone back to life, but helping out an embarrased host who ran out of wine.  He didn't provide just a few bottles, but six jars "each holding twenty to thirty gallons" (John 2: 6), and by John's account, wine better than that originally provided.  Jesus's first miracle: a sign of extravagant love and hospitality.

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
                                                                                                     - John 10: 10

Day 37: Lost and Found

DAY 37: LOST AND FOUND

In the sacristy, there's a plastic tub that functions as a "Lost and Found."  Well, lost...found...but not claimed.  I cleaned it out today, threw some away, and set aside the rest for OASIS.

Who hasn't been lost at some point in life?  Who hasn't lost something, or someone?  Everyone can identify with the frustration, fear, and lonliness that come with being lost.  Which means that everyone can also identify with being found, or finding what is lost.  What a wonderful thing it is to finally see the familiar landmark, or see those keys poking out from under the newspaper!

What a wonderful feeling that God never stops looking for me.  Maybe all I need to do is stop and listen for God's call, so that God can embrace me and celebrate my return.

Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it?  And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, "Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost."  In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
                                                                                                                        - Luke 15: 8-10 

Day 36: My Grandma's Dishes

DAY 36: MY GRANDMA'S DISHES

"Theodore Haviland, New York; Apple Blossom," it says on the bottom.  My paternal grandmother died when I was in gradeschool.  Family lore says that she was an awful cook, but my grandfather backed her up quite well.  He was an awesome, Southern-style cook; we often visited their house, and dined on Virginia ham, homemade biscuits, collards, and butter beans, among other culinary delights.

When my grandfather died, I received the china.  It seemed an obvious choice, since I was in catering at the time.  Fact is, though, although I've displayed these dishes proudly in my dining room, I rarely eat off them, so I decided to give them to one of my nieces.

Real dining -- at a dinner table with china, crystal, silverware and linen -- is becoming a lost art.  At church, I have trouble convincing folks NOT to use paper plates and plasic ware, even for the most special occasions.

The Rule of Benedict instructs us to "Treat all gusests af if they were Christ."  If Jesus showed up for our Easter dinner, would we serve him on paper plates? 

Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward, you may go on your way.
                                                                                      - Genesis 18: 5

 

Day 35: Bubble Wrap

DAY 35: BUBBLE WRAP

I keep a box in the office for packing materials that come in boxes shipped to me.  I take them to the UPS store to be re-used, keeping lots of bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts out of the landfill.

It's sometimes tempting to take myself a bit too seriously.  When I encounter a responsibility, I can sometimes act or think as though I am what is important, rather than the task.  The same is true of my calling as a disciple of Christ.  Feelings of self-righteousness or pride can creep in, leading to a "holier-than-thou" attitude. 

St. Paul reminds us that "we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord" (2 Cor 4:5).  I'm simply an ordinary clay jar -- fragile and breakable -- that holds a great teasure to be shared with all.

As we enter this week we call HOLY, may I find some "bubble wrap" to protect me:

- in the scriptures,
- in the Church,
- in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

May this protection help protect the fragile vessel that is me, and enable me to share the precious gift of Jesus Christ with others.

But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
                                                                                                - 2 Corinthians 4: 7-10

Day 34: Wind-Blown Flags

DAY 34: WIND-BLOWN FLAGS

At the entrance of the church, there are a couple of flage poles on which we fly various colored flags, to signal the liturgical seasons.  As I was looking for the red flags to put up for Passion Sunday, I found quite a few of these flags that were pretty much in shreds.  There's something about the front of our building that tunnels wind through there like few other places.  Only the strongest flags make it through more than one season.

I don't think it's accidental that the Holy Spirit is portrayed as wind: 

- She's the breath of God, breathing life into creation.
- She's the strong, driving wind that parts the Red Sea.
- She's the storm that tosses the disciples on the Sea of Galilee, and the wind that "filled the whole house where they were sitting" on Pentecost.

We move with that Spirit, tossed in the wind, giving it our all, until we finally surrender our threads and let go to the power of the gale.  Sweet surrender.

Think of a ship: big as it is and driven by such strong winds, it can be steered by a very small rudder, and it goes wherever the pilot wants it to go. 
                                                                                              - James 3: 4