Lent is a time of stock-taking, refocusing, re-entering the place of truth and reclaiming our true identity. Jesus, in the Gospel, stresses the importance of desiring only God to notice the things that we do and say. It is really only God who counts. There is a tendency in human fragility to want others to notice what we do. Jesus warns us against
this.
This can be difficult for us. Often we do and say things because we want others to notice and, in some way, want them to acknowledge that they have noticed. It makes us feel good or worthwhile when they do. A voice deep inside us, the voice we so often hear, deceives us and leads us to believe that our own self-worth and our value is in the things we do – the
things we do well and not so well. We seek the approval of others to make us feel good, worthwhile and valued. In this time of stock-taking, Jesus reminds us that our true value is realised only in God.
The season of Lent invites us to look at the different shelves of our lives and what we have on those shelves. Often, when we move house or decide to spring clean, we find ourselves amazed at the things that take up space in our cupboards – things we have forgotten and no longer need. We find unnecessary things in the form of attitudes, hurts, grudges, broken past relationships, addictions etc., cluttering up
our hearts. These things we no longer use occupy valuable space in our hearts. In Lent, we ask God to help us let go of what we no longer need.
In this time of Lent and through our spiritual practices, the Gospel invites us to take stock and clean out the cupboards of our lives for the God who loves us.
Today we might as ourselves: What areas of my life are cluttered and need attention this Lent?
