Lent: A time for reflecting on how we sidestep God

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Good article to reflect on during this Easter season - Lent: A time for reflecting on how we sidestep God.

GRACE NOTES: Lent: A time for reflecting on how we sidestep God
Lorraine V. Murray - For the Journal-Constitution
Saturday, March 12, 2005

"Tuna fish again?" I groaned, biting into the soggy sandwich.

Then I reminded myself that it is the end of the fourth week of Lent, a holy season when many Christians, like yours truly, are eating smaller meals, making sacrifices and abstaining from meat on Fridays.

And often getting discouraged.

After all, in a fast-food, fax-it-to-me society, we are accustomed to having what we want when we want it. And now, suddenly, as our hand reaches for the extra-large package of Peanut M&M's, we hear a little voice in our heads, whispering (or, if need be, shouting): "Put that down! You gave up sweets for Lent."

Some folks shake their heads sadly. Why give up things at all, they wonder. Doesn't God want us to be happy and to prosper? Is Lent some sort of masochistic practice that puts too great a sheen on suffering?

Which is another way of wondering: What's suffering got to do with religion anyway?

Many people see religion as an insurance policy against suffering. There is the sense that if I go to church, put money in the basket, say my prayers and follow the basic rules, God will reward me richly with radiant health for my family, a long life and, as far as suffering goes, as little as possible.

This notion of God paints him rather like a built-in social security system.

The idea is that you put in your time --- whether in the pew or the soup kitchen --- and you make your contributions. Then you can expect God to do his part when you need him.

Problem is, to borrow a nice turn of phrase from Flannery O'Connor, many people expect religion to be an electric blanket and then are startled to discover that it really is the cross.

What a great shock it is when awful things happen to people who apparently did everything right --- people who were loving and kind, and followed the commandments and sacrificed for others.

Which, of course, is the whole story of the passion and death of Jesus Christ.

If you watched "The Passion of the Christ," you saw a vivid, soul-wrenching portrayal of what the cross really means: For Christ, it involved humiliation, agonizing physical pain, abandonment and death.

Well, if that is what Christianity is all about, shouldn't we all run like mad for the nearest exit?

But the answer, of course, is that the cross is really about something much deeper. If the Gospel account of the crucifixion ended with Christ dying on the cross, we would have to rule the entire story the most tragic tale of all times.

Christians, however, don't see the cross as a symbol of defeat, but as a sign of spiritual victory. Despite the horrors of the crucifixion, Christ triumphed over death and was seen by hundreds of people after emerging from the tomb.

For Christians, then, the cross is the center of our own journey from life to death --- and rebirth. And, unfortunately, there is just no way around it: That journey means some very hard times.

It means parents losing children in terrible boating accidents and folks suffering long, agonizing declines from illnesses that strike out of the blue. It means tsunamis and famines and viruses and wars.

In "Authentic Faith," Gary L. Thomas points out that we are all born as selfish, egocentric beings. A life of faith means cooperating with God "to forge lives of selflessness, compassion and love."

"This transformation is impossible apart from suffering," he notes.

Thomas gives some mighty compelling examples of great souls whose lives could be seen as a continual Lent of unbearable suffering.

Augustine died of a wasting disease; Teresa of Avila agonized through years of migraines; the Puritan writer Richard Baxter wrote while a tumor was protruding from his body.

And Francis of Assisi was nearly blind when he penned his famous "Canticle of the Creatures."

Lent is not a time to delight in misery, but a chance to take a good, hard look at ourselves in the mirror to see what habits we are clinging to as buffers against suffering.

For some people, the buffers are addictions to alcohol, tobacco or food. Others may be slaves to nagging or complaining or worrying.

Often, we use our well-worn habits to give us temporary respite from painful thoughts or memories we feel we simply cannot face. Many people, when feeling blue, rush to the mall for what is called "shopping therapy." Problem is, once the shopper gets the fix, the underlying problem remains, and may worsen.

The big Lenten question is this: What is taking the place of God in our lives? What do we put ahead of everything else?

If our jobs have become all-consuming, we needn't quit them. But can we learn to achieve some sort of balance between work and family? If we are watching TV for four hours each evening --- and then saying there's no time to visit Aunt Susie in the hospital --- is it possible TV has become our idol?

Christ went into the desert to fast for 40 days before beginning his ministry. We don't have a lot of details about those days, except that he was among wild animals and was visited by the devil.

The desert is not a very comfortable place. If you are carrying too much baggage, you will have to put it down. Also, it gets mighty cold at night, and you will have to figure out a way to keep the snakes at bay.

Most of us who walk into the Lenten desert will have to wrestle with worse than snakes.

We will hear voices assuring us we are already very good people and needn't do anything more. And murmuring that as long as God loves us, we are good to go.

There will be times during Lent when we just flat-out want to give up. We will feel the whole fasting and abstinence thing is a big waste of time.

But Lent is simply a reflection of our larger faith journey. There will be countless times along the path from selfishness to selflessness, from greed to compassion, when we will be tempted.

We will be tempted to put ourselves first. Tempted to ignore the cries of the poor. And to overlook the face of Christ in our neighbors.

The thing about Lent is this: There is no big glitzy payoff. It's not like a survivor show where you get fame and money for your trials and tribulations. Nor is it a social security system, whereby you get a definite payback at the end of 40 days.

But Lent still is a trip worth taking because no matter how bad things get, there is someone walking with you. No matter how often you fall, he will help you up. And when you emerge from the desert, you will never be quite the same.

Lorraine Murray's latest book --- "How Shall We Celebrate?" --- will be published this spring. She also is the author of "Grace Notes" and "Why Me? Why Now? Finding Hope When You Have Breast Cancer." E-mail: lorrainevmurray@yahoo.com