The word Lent is derived from an old English word that means springtime. And springtime, thank God, is a time of change. Soon we will be seeing a beautiful change, a profound transformation in nature from death to life from hibernation to activity, from barrenness to fertility.
As nature around us changes during Lent, so must we. The season of Lent provides us enough opportunity to begin that change when we pray more intensely, thereby drawing closer to God. We commit to fasting, thereby distancing ourselves from those attachments that get in the way of our holiness and well-being.
Sin has been defined as an undue attachment to the things of this world. Isn't that the truth! Not that the things of this world are bad in and of themselves, because they are not. But any undue attachment to the things of this world is rightly called sinful. Whether those things are food or drink, possessions, luxury items, sensuality, or power, are undue attachment to them tends to lead to our undoing. We must repent from those attachments.
A story is told about a young man who was going away to fulfill his military obligation. His family was rightly nervous about his journey, knowing that it would take him a long way from home and expose him to many temptations and dangers that comes from that. His grandmother called him aside before he left for boot camp, and she told him to be a person of Christian integrity. “Just remember who you are and how you were raised. Remember to go to church every Sunday as that is what connects you to us and to your God. Pray every day.” The young man would later say that even given all of the commands directed to him by his drill Sergeant, it was the words of his grandmother that stuck in his mind and in his heart for the rest of his life. “Remember who you are and how you were raised”.
Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote in the book The Cost of Discipleship about what he termed “cheap grace.” He defined “cheap grace” as “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.” Notice that the emphasis is on the benefits of Christianity without the costs involved; thus, the adjective cheap to describe it.
This cheap grace is often seen in our church today. People feel entitled to many things from the church but they themselves are not willing to be disciples. People want to have their children baptized but have no intention of practicing their Catholic faith by going to Mass or caring for the needs of the church with their support. People expect the church to provide religious education for their children, yet they do not take on the role of being the primary teachers of the faith.
In the gospel today, Jesus takes his closest disciples up the mountain and teaches them a lesson about change. As his body is transfigured or changed, Jesus reveals that he is indeed God, and in so doing so is them the possibility of change in their humanity.
We need to change, and that is what this lent gives us the opportunity to do. We cannot do it alone, we need Jesus and his church. We need God's grace which only comes with our acceptance of the cross of discipleship. The senseless violence and divisions we see in our streets every day is because we are losing God, and in losing Him, we are losing ourselves. Society will only change when individuals and families change. Without a conversion to humility and selflessness in our own hearts, all the talk about ending violence may end up in pious generalities. It is not enough to speak about reforming our society and community. We need to reform ourselves.
May our sharing in the Eucharist help us to change. May the grace of this sacrament help us to overcome temptation and keep us attuned to the voice of God.
God Bless,
