To understand Jesus in a whole new way, you must first know that Christ is not his last name, but his transformed identity after the Resurrection - which takes humanity and all of creation along in its sweet path. Jesus became the Christ, and included us in this identity.
That's why Paul will create the new term "the body of Christ," which clearly includes all of us. So think of the good Jesus, who has to die to what seems like him - so that he can rise as the Christ. It is not a "bad" man who must die on the cross, but a good man ("false self") - so that he can be a much larger man ("True Self"). Jesus dies, Christ rises. The false self is not the bad self; it is just not the true self.
(Richard Rohr, from Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality)
What Fr. Richard says here about the death of the false self reminds me of how I've been thinking about Lent. Often people think of Lent as a time to "give things up" - and mostly the things they're considering giving up are at best slightly guilty pleasures, things they feel they really shouldn't be so attached to, or would be healthier without - like chocolate, or television.
I've always struggled with this idea of Lent. Mostly when I look at "lifestyle choices" (horrid phrase!) they hardly need thinking about. Smoking is really bad for you, and for those around you - don't do it. Coffee is wonderful, and harmless in moderation, and socially responsible if you go for the fair-trade variety. Enjoy it. Lent is surely about more than these. The desires that are the subject of really big choices, like sex, are not just for Lent. Celibacy is a lifelong calling, as is marriage.
Lent for me is much more a time of penitence than of penances. I've often struggled to understand what this word "penitence" truly means. It's not the same as repentance. The Franciscan Third Order was originally known as the "Order of Penitents." John Townroe describes it as "knowing that my state is ever and always one that calls for mercy."
That mercy is the mercy of the Cross. It is the mercy we ask for in the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Simon Barrington-Ward describes it as a "prayer of total confession and surrender and yearning for wholeness" - which is, as I understand him, precisely what Rohr is talking about in the quote above.
I've always struggled with this idea of Lent. Mostly when I look at "lifestyle choices" (horrid phrase!) they hardly need thinking about. Smoking is really bad for you, and for those around you - don't do it. Coffee is wonderful, and harmless in moderation, and socially responsible if you go for the fair-trade variety. Enjoy it. Lent is surely about more than these. The desires that are the subject of really big choices, like sex, are not just for Lent. Celibacy is a lifelong calling, as is marriage.
Lent for me is much more a time of penitence than of penances. I've often struggled to understand what this word "penitence" truly means. It's not the same as repentance. The Franciscan Third Order was originally known as the "Order of Penitents." John Townroe describes it as "knowing that my state is ever and always one that calls for mercy."
That mercy is the mercy of the Cross. It is the mercy we ask for in the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." Simon Barrington-Ward describes it as a "prayer of total confession and surrender and yearning for wholeness" - which is, as I understand him, precisely what Rohr is talking about in the quote above.
1 comment:
Such good thoughts, both in Rohr's quote and in your exposition. BTW, is it worth the postage for me to order Simon Barrington Ward's book from UK? Though I have too many books. . . .
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