Lent and Advent are the two big penitential seasons in the church year. Each one provides us with a pause, an opening to look at new vistas. Penance is a word with root meaning in changing direction, in the way something trends or leans—an opportunity to adjust the direction and the way we live and think about our life.
The Greek word for repent is metanoia; an alteration in the mind, in the intelligence, and in the soul’s communion with God. We are all familiar with the caterpillars that munch their way through our gardens and countryside foliage, then they pause to form a cocoon and pupate, finally emerging as butterflies that are able to course back into the world lifted by the wind. Poor earthbound grub worms that emerge through metamorphosis, a change in their body type into the butterfly that we view with awe and delight. Lent can be such a transformational time for us.
But Lent is not just about change, it is also about reduction, a peeling away and removing the impact of life’s negative intrusions of fear and worry. To worry about life is our common temptation. Jesus pointed to the lilies of the field that bloom for a day and then are gone. They do what their genetic code directs them to do: they grow, they bloom, they form seeds and then they die. They are not consumed by cares and worries, but bloom and flourish in God’s time appointed to them in harmony with their created purpose.
In Lent we can peel away the worries and distractions of this world, just as with an ear of corn we peel away the husk, leaf by leaf, then the tangle of silk and nuisance of threads leading everywhere! We are left with only the rich plump kernels that provide nourishment if we eat them, or kernels that can be planted to grow into an entirely new life once again. Just as Jesus talked about wheat falling into various kinds of soil types—rocky, thin and dry or ultimately loam from which will sprout a greater harvest—so during Lent we have an opportunity to peel away all of the extraneous husks of distractions and to plant the nourishing seeds that bring us into a fuller life of companionship with our Lord Jesus Christ.
One Lenten discipline is to pause at the end of each day and ponder three gifts that God has given to you, that day. It may be the smile of a friend, the kiss of a child, a scrap of music, the call of a cardinal, the sound of waves breaking on the lakeshore, clouds moving across the moon, a flow of intense orange glowing at sunset, the sound of the wind’s fingers coursing through a pine tree, the kind word of a loved one, the politeness of a stranger allowing you into a long line, a beautiful line of poetry, a quote from holy scripture lifting you closer to God’s spirit…
A wealth of small miracles are given to us every day, gifts to enrich our souls. Yes, God’s miraculous gifts appear each day quietly, if only we can pause to reflect, recognize them, and then give thanks. Lent is our pause to harvest these kernels of joy, love and wisdom from God to us! Happy metanoia!
Jim McPhee, School of Spiritual Direction
School of IONA