Could we say that Lent is springtime for discipleship? It is a time of growing in knowledge of God and ourselves. It is a time in which, if we pay special attention to the Scriptures, we are instructed and therefore formed as more faithful friends of Jesus.
We live in a particular moment in history where instant gratification, self-interest and individuality are prized. This period of Lent invites us to live beyond the surface. It invites us to go deeper in a time of superficiality. Perhaps that is one of the biggest challenges of our era: to explore our inner life and be honest with ourselves about how shallow we can actually be. This time of Lent invites us to explore the depths of our own hearts
in the hope that we can live more meaningful and enriching lives once we discover what is deeper within us.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus urges us to practice spiritual disciplines. He talks about almsgiving, prayer and fasting (notice the order!). These disciplines are not only for professional religious people or monks and nuns. He invites every believer – in the midst of daily life – to practise these disciplines.
Jesus warns us, too, that we should not think of these disciplines as dull or as a hardship, then we miss the point – just as the Scribes and Pharisees do as Jesus warns us today. The purpose of spiritual disciplines is to help us liberate ourselves from what we need – from fear, excessive and damaging self-interest, and the real risk of becoming superficial people. Ultimately, these disciplines are not about us but about God’s life in us and our
awareness of that life which can and will only bring joy.
Often, we think that these disciples are hard and somehow make us boring. They are not. The only ingredient we need to practice them well is a real longing for God. If we have a longing, a thirst for God, we will not see them as something difficult and tedious but, rather, a way of creating more space for our deepest longing.
What spiritual discipline(s) are you going to practice, from today, for this period of Lent?
How will you do this, and what will help you practice them well?
