Facebook asks, What's on your mind?" What's on my mind? I've been reflecting on my Lent that was pretty much non-Lent, followed by a good Holy Week, which I've not yet got together in my head enough to write about. For Lent, I did not give up anything, nor did I do anything positive that was any different from my daily life. Daily life seems to keep me pretty much occupied and out of trouble - most of the time. During Holy Week, I attended services on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday, and it was all good. We had a nice, quiet Easter Day, which was good, too.
And then there's the ongoing puzzle of prayers I say and hymns I sing, even as I don't really believe all that I pray and sing. What's even odder is that some of my favorite hymns include theology to which I do not subscribe.
That's what is on my mind, Facebook, as though you cared.
"What's on my mind? I've been reflecting on my Lent that was pretty much non-Lent"
ReplyDeleteIf you're reflecting, Mimi, there must have been Lent.
There was Holy Week, JCF. Some years ago, I decided to give up giving up things for Lent, so I knew a Lenten discipline would have to be something added on, and it never happened. But, as I said at FB, Paul says all things work together for good for those who love God, and I do love God.
DeleteLent is a liturgical time to set aside the time to remember... to take on a discipline that prepares our hearts for the overwhelming grace set before us in the Resurrection. It would seem to me that if you didn't do it in those 40 days, you have certainly done it in other times and other ways, Grandmere.
ReplyDeleteAnd I, for one, am so very grateful for your witness to your love of God. Yes. I. Am.
Thank you, margaret. Daily, I prepare for the overwhelming grace of God in the Resurrection, because I need saving, or rescuing, if you will, every single day. I love the rhythm of the liturgical seasons, but, for this Lent, I could not work out a way to prepare for what happens every day. Does that make any sense? Maybe next year... :-) Judy Collins, where are you when I need you?
DeleteGosh, Mimi, you and I must have shared the same non-Lent! Winter puts me in such a funky mood. I cannot stand the cold! By the time Lent happens I feel as if I have already been through the penitential season so I am more than ready for resurrection. I, too, have given up the giving up for Lent. I had so much of that rammed down my throat in the RCC that I vowed thirty years ago when I joined TEC that I would add on for Lent.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for Hallelujah ... one of my all time favorites! Once again, you and I are on the same musical page!
whiteycat, it's good to see I was not alone. I didn't speak out till after Easter so as not to sound a negative note for those who were having a proper Lent. (Is there really such thing as a proper, one-size-fits-all Lent?)
DeleteAs to Leonard Cohen, though his voice has deepened and become a bit gritty over the years, I prefer his recent performances to some from his earlier career.
Mimi and Doxy--twins separated at birth....
ReplyDeleteDoxy, your wonderful post about your Lent inspired me to write what little I have about mine.
DeleteWhat prayers do you pray that you don't believe, Mimi? Or would you rather not say? ...
ReplyDeleteCathy, I don't mind saying. First of all, I say the Creeds and The Lord's Prayer without crossing my fingers. The prayers I have most difficulty with are probably in the Prefaces and Collects, and I'd have to see them to point out the words that are problematic for me. Here's an example:
DeleteAlmighty Father, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification: Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
I'm somewhat horrified at the thought that God would give the beloved son to die for my sins, so that I may be justified. I don't believe it was necessary for Jesus to die for my sins to be forgiven. If we ask forgiveness, we are forgiven. All is grace.
Once Jesus became incarnate, it was perhaps inevitable because of his teachings and the way he lived his brief life on earth that he would be killed, but God did not will the killing for our justification. Jesus chose to become human, one with us, and to teach and live as he lived, and through the Incarnation, we become one with God.
So for me, it is the whole story of Jesus, his Incarnation, his life on earth, teachings, miracles, association with all sorts of people, his death, and finally his Resurrection that saves us, or rescues us. Did it have to take exactly the course it did for us to be saved? Not necessarily. People killed Jesus, not God.
During my last church-going years, my recitations began to sound more like those 'expletives bleeped out' interviews on television. There were so many things I could no longer say with any sincerity or belief. Once I was down to saying less than half the words I knew it was time to rethink my religion all together.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have now found a much closer relationship to god - outside the words, outside the building, and outside the power structure.
8thday, I hear you. It seems others have gone your way and grown closer to God. I care about the people in my church community too much to go my separate way. In the 17 years that I've been part of St John's, my theology has changed greatly, but the people seem to accept me as I am. I love the rhythm of the church seasons in worship, and even though I was more focused on the Incarnation rather than the death and Resurrection of Jesus during Lent, Holy Week was very good and satisfying, though quite orthodox. Each of us must find our way to encounter God as best we can.
DeleteI loved most of the people in my church too and would have stayed even as my theology evolved. Unfortunately I was asked to leave a "welcoming and inclusive church" apparently for being "too gay". But as usually happens - one door closes and a whole new vista opens. I do believe that there are as many paths to god as there are stars in the heavens.
DeleteIf I had been a member of your "welcoming and inclusive church", I probably would have left with you. I'm trying to work out what "too gay" means.
DeleteWe were very active in a"welcoming and inclusive" church as a family for 15 years without any problem. And then an interim pastor came (from a rather conservative state) who accused me of being in love with her and I got a letter kicking me out of the church. Her accusation was based on me asking that she let me know she had returned safely from a road trip she was driving alone, and that I had said I cared about her, which was in reference to her sharing how upset she was with her divorce settlement. An acute case of gay panic, I suppose. I later heard that some people were also upset that my partner and I kissed during the sign of peace - as did most straight couples.
DeleteI have learned that most people are very accepting of gay folks - just as long as they act like the straight ones. Once they start acting all gay and all, especially in public, well it can get ugly.
I have also learned that churches who required a vote to "welcome" gays to THEIR table, can then also vote them out.
And yes, quite a few people left that church when they heard what had happened. It was an eye opening experience for a lot of us and a particularly hard lesson for our children.
You've answered my question about "too gay". Why shouldn't you kiss at the peace sign? It would be very odd for a couple to shake hands.
DeleteThe interim pastor sounds paranoid to me.
Any church that requires a vote to "welcome" gays does not welcome gays. It's that simple. I'm sorry all that happened to you and your partner.