Boot Camp for the Soul, Part 2: Reset

Genesis 12:1-4   Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; 

John 3:1-17         Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

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I read an Anne Tyler novel a number of years ago called Ladder of Years.  It’s a story about a woman named Delia who just picks herself up and walks away from it all during a family vacation at the beach.  Really.  She just gets up, wipes the sand off her legs, and walks away with nothing but her beach cover up and her purse.  Delia hitches a ride to the nearest town and starts a new life.

This story came at the right time in my life.  I had a house full of kids.  This was a fantasy I could really get into.  I would never have just walked away from my family.  But what an attractive idea that can be.  Sometimes you just want to walk away and start over.  Usually there are enough things holding you back to prevent you from doing it. 

I wonder what was holding back Abram when God called him to walk away from his home and his people, and go to a place God would show him.  There must have been something – or a few things – on his mind. 

But we don’t know.  The text doesn’t say.  It just says that Abram went, as the Lord told him. 

Sometimes discipleship happens like that.  But not always.

Other times it’s more like Nicodemus, who approached Jesus hesitantly and stealthily.  He came in the dark of night.  And it’s no wonder he came at night.  After all, he was a Pharisee – a teacher of Israel.

He was breaking ranks with his fellows, who were, of course, emphatically opposed to Jesus.  Something pulled at Nicodemus, leading him to make this night visit.  But he came with all his hesitation and doubts and uncertainties, and a certain amount of resistance to being made new –  some fear of what was unknown. 

And this baggage Nicodemus brought with him seemed to make it impossible for him to take that leap in understanding.  Nicodemus asks Jesus, how can these things be?  and you can almost hear the quiver in his voice as he asks.

Nicodemus arrives in the dark and he leaves in the dark, seeming to have gained nothing.  He is no farther along on the road to discipleship.  Maybe we know, ourselves, what it’s like to be in the dark, unable to take that step into something new.

Yet, Lent is just that – beginning anew.  When we take up a Lenten discipline we are, in a sense, hitting the reset button on our spiritual lives. 

In the beginning, Lent was a season of preparation for new Christians, preparing for their baptism, which would take place on Easter.  And the traditional Lenten discipline was the fast.

It was taken very seriously.  Typically, fasting was observed Monday through Saturday, when they were permitted only one meal at the end of the day – a vegetarian meal.  Sundays were exceptions, because every Sunday is considered a little Easter – a feast day, a celebration of the resurrection.

It is rare now for Christians to observe such a strict Lenten discipline.  When we think of a Lenten fast, we might think of giving up sweets or caffeine.  We consider it optional.  And, very likely, we are not really sure what the point of it is.

This is probably why many Christians now embrace the idea of taking something up rather than giving something up during Lent – that feels more purposeful, somehow.  Yet the Lenten fast is a spiritual practice that still may have much use for us.  We might just need a new angle.  What if instead of speaking about giving something up, we rephrased it as letting something go? 

Consider today’s scriptures from this viewpoint.  What did Abram need to let go when he followed God’s call into the wilderness?  He needed to let go of home, the land of Haran.  He had to let go of family.  But it went even further than that.  He also had to let go of his identity, in a sense.  No longer was he Terah’s son, for any practical purpose.  Wherever he went, he would be an unknown quantity, and he would be redefined by whatever circumstances he encountered.

Abram had to let go of many of the things he knew about himself for the sake of learning something new about himself.  When Abram followed God’s call he really pressed the reset button on his life. I wonder how hard that was to do.

Nicodemus was also asked to let go of some things.  He needed to let go of certain ways of looking at the world – this idea of what it means to be born, for example.  He needed to let go of his concepts of truth, of certainty.  He needed to be able to let go of the way he understood God’s actions in the world, and even who he was in relation to God and all of humankind.  Nicodemus was being asked to let go of some really big things – intellectually and spiritually. 

And Nicodemus, as we see, was not very successful at it.  We felt sorry for Nicodemus at the roundtable this week.  We sympathized with him, because we certainly know what it is like to be utterly confused by something, like he was confused by Jesus.  And we wondered aloud whatever became of Nic. 

I can tell you that Nicodemus made another appearance in the story in chapter 7.  Jesus is teaching among crowds of people at a religious festival.  The Pharisees are about ready to have him arrested, but Nicodemus is there and he says something to the others to slow things down. 

Nicodemus makes one final appearance.  After Jesus is crucified.  Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take his body from the cross to the tomb.  Nicodemus brings the myrrh for his burial.

Is the jury still out on Nicodemus?  Possibly.  But there is hope for Nicodemus.  He appears to have stepped out into some new territory; he is letting go of some things for the sake of being present to the new things.

What is it in your life that you need to let go of this season.  What is causing you anxiety?  Anger?  Fear?  What is creating a barrier between you and the extraordinary thing God would like to do with you?

Here is an exercise you can try.  Find a rock small enough to hold in your hand.  Imagine this rock being the embodiment of the thing God is urging you to let go.  You hold this in your hand, but you have the power to let it go.  When you are ready find a body of water, or just fill a bucket, and drop your rock into the water.  As you feel your hand letting go, as you watch the rock sink into the water, know that a weight has been lifted, a burden dropped.  You are, in some way, freed.

Reset.

Boot Camp for the Soul, Part 1: The Need for Change

Matthew 4:1-11   Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.

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When you hear the term “boot camp” what do you think of?

The term has traditionally referred to the basic training military recruits go through to prepare them for service.  Boot camp is hard.  It pushes them to their limits both physically and mentally, to prepare them for service to their country. 

Boot camp has also taken on broader meaning – for example, most YMCAs now have boot camp classes.  And there are other programs that help you lose weight or learn computer skills.  Essentially, boot camp is now used to describe any program that is intense and challenging and focused on making some kind of transformation.

Consider Lent, then, as form of boot camp.  Lent is six weeks of intense, challenging, and focused work on the spiritual task of preparing for Easter, for resurrected life.  It may not look like a lot of activity is going on – no pushups or obstacle courses – because it’s a time for going inward.  Lent invites us to introspection, to spend some time discerning all that blocks us from the knowledge of the love of God, whether it be our personal sin or systemic barriers that keep us from a fuller life in Christ.  Lent offers us a chance to identify these things and repent of them; Lent guides us into renewal.

So, we begin this season with the story of Jesus in the wilderness, as he began his ministry.  It was immediately after his baptism by John that he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he spent 40 days and nights in fasting and solitude.  This was his Lent; this was Jesus’ boot camp, preparing him for what was ahead.

After his forty days of fasting, the tempter came to him.  You can call him Satan, if you like.  And the tempter presented him with a challenge – a taunt.  “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 

Jesus responds by quoting scripture to the tempter.  One does not live by bread alone, but by the word of God.  Not easy to say, after fasting for 40 days and nights.  He might have easily relieved his suffering, but he declined to do so.  There was purpose in this suffering.

The tempter continued with his taunts, and he upped the ante by throwing scripture back at Jesus.  You see, even the Devil can play that game.  He took him to the top of the temple and said, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up.’” 

But Jesus made a decision that he wasn’t going to live like that.  Again, he declined the offer.

So, in a final act, the tempter takes him to a high mountain and offers to give him all power and glory if only he will worship him.  “That’s enough,” Jesus says to him.  Be gone.  And that’s it.  At least for now.

You know, Jesus did not need the tempter to give him any of these things.  He didn’t need the tempter to tell him he has the ability to produce bread, for he will do just fine with that when the time comes.  Later in his ministry, when he has led thousands of people out in the wilderness to hear him teach, there will be bread enough for them all. 

And, when the time comes for him to be thrown up on the cross, he goes willingly knowing that he is putting himself in the hands of God, who will bear him up from the depths of hell. 

And, finally, when the time comes, he will be seated on the right hand of the Father, in his glory.  He does not need the tempter to give him dominion over anything, does he? 

To say yes to any of these offers, would be to take a shortcut, to try to reap the benefits without the work, to claim the prize without entering the program.  It doesn’t work.

The temptations offered to Jesus in the wilderness would have made his personal journey much easier.  And had he been focused on his personal comfort and gain, he would have accepted them.  But taking the tempter up on his offers would have denied the world, all of us, the life that we might have in him.  Had Jesus taken up these temptations, we would have lost everything. 

The same is true for us, in a way.  Lent can be an amazing experience for you.  Lent gives you an opportunity to embark on a journey that will change you –

Or not.  That’s just it – this journey is one that is offered to all of us, but none of us is forced to participate.  You haven’t signed a contract committing you to the program. 

You can opt out.  And know that if you are not saying yes to the invitation of Lent, that is exactly what you are doing – opting out.  But realize, also, that no growth results from choosing to opt out.  There is nothing to be gained from opting out.  And everything to lose.

On Ash Wednesday, I spoke to you of the crises in our world that often leaves us feeling helpless, maybe even hopeless; the crises that threaten to starve our souls.  We must tend to the needs of our souls.  If we do, we can be a force for good – for healing – in the world.   

Boot camp for the soul.  Beginning today.

We won’t be getting down on the floor and doing push-ups.  But how about an introduction to some spiritual practice? 

Try lectio divina.  It is a centuries-old practice, which means simply sacred reading.  Here is what you do.

You read a portion of scripture slowly three times, with silence between each reading.  The first time, listen for a word or phrase that rises up and offers itself to you.  Spend the quiet time repeating and listening to that word or phrase.

The second time, listen for how God is speaking to you through this passage.  Use the silence afterward in prayer, considering what it means to you.

The third and final time, listen again to how God is speaking to you, and use the silence afterward to prayerfully consider how God is leading you toward change.

Let us begin.  After Jesus came out of the wilderness …

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

If you had any trouble staying focused, this means you are human.  And like anything, practice will make your practice of this exercise much more meaningful.

Blessings as you begin the journey.