God of all seasons,
in your pattern of things
there is a time for keeping
and a time for losing,
a time for building up
and a time for pulling down.
In this holy season of Lent,
as we journey with our Lord to the cross,
help us to discern in our lives
what we must lay down
and what we must take up;
what we must end
and what we must begin.
Give us grace to lead a disciplined life,
in glad obedience
and with the joy
which comes from a closer walk with Christ.
Amen*
*Book of Common Order Lenten Prayer (pg 431)
The prayer above is a reminder that we are on the threshold of a different season in the Christian calendar - one long anticipated this year. Lent can be a season in which we seek a closer walk with Christ. We fast in order to create time and space within our days and our life to encounter God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
In today's world though, fasting is sometimes viewed in a negative light. We are more often encouraged to do something to make a difference. But that has a tendency to make us busier and rarely does busyness lead us into a place of being attuned to Christ and what he is calling us to attend to in our lives.
On Saturday at our Presbytery Prayer event, Rev Dr Ken Jeffrey challenged us to consider our listening practices. What do we do when we are actively listening to someone? From my experience, listening takes time and energy and space. We need to remove distractions and choose to be attentive. We all know how frustrating it is to speak to someone whose attention is divided. No matter how they may protest, we sense deep down that they're not really taking in what we are saying.
Lent provides us with an opportunity to practice being more attentive to God. Ash Wednesday allows us to confess our failure to listen. And fasting from something which takes up too much time and energy and space in our lives, or which is simply a distraction, could free us up to begin afresh in our efforts to listen to the One in whose presence there is life and joy.
Rev Stella