Lent-a season of
the church year, which is a time to reflect on what it means to really live a
Christian life. Right!
I think that too often we do think that Lent is a
dark time when we should be sorrowful and beat ourselves up about our failings.
Instead, it is a wonderful opportunity to renew our commitment, made at
baptism, to “continue
in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the
prayers.” To “persevere in resisting evil, repent and return to the Lord.”
To “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.”
To “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.”
And to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”
Throughout
Lent, on this blog, I’ll be offering thoughts about these 5 parts of the
Baptismal Covenant* and ways to make them alive in your life. As is often the
case, these reflections will probably teach me more than you, my readers, will
learn. Anyone who’s been a Sunday School teacher or led a retreat or given a
sermon can tell you that is what usually happens.
Community
is an important, perhaps even core, aspect of the Christian life. The first
question of the Baptismal service asks, “Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers?” The Gospels all tell
of Jesus living in community with his disciples and in Acts we hear that the
very first followers of the Way “had all things in common…attending the temple
together and breaking bread in their homes…praising God and having favor with
all the people.” (Acts 2:44-47)
As the
Good News spread throughout the Roman Empire it was small groups (communities)
of people who heard and believed and shared the Truth. It can be easy to lose
sight of the simple, even humble, beginnings of the church when we sit in our lovely
buildings on Sunday. However, the Gospel is still shared in small groups and in
homes.
We are not
a member of just one community, either. There is the community of our family,
the community of church, the community of our work environment, and the
community of our church. We are members of the community of close friends, the
community of neighborhoods, and the community of any clubs or organizations we
belong to. Our lives are circles of communities, some of which may intersect or
even interlock. In each of the communities, we are to live a life, like Peter
and John before the Sanhedrin, where it is “recognized that [we have] been with
Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
When we
gather with family or friends and pray before the meal, even in public, we are
sharing the Gospel. When we come together on Sunday and consider the miracle of
the Eucharist, we are sharing the Gospel. When we pause in our busy lives to
offer comfort to a friend or even a stranger, we share the Gospel. When we join
a Bible study or attend a retreat, we are sharing the Gospel with one another
in that community.
The newly baptized, whether infants or children or adults are welcomed "into the household of God. [to] Confess
the faith of Christ crucified, proclaim his resurrection, and share
with us in his eternal priesthood." All who are baptized into Christ (no matter what denomination) are part of one big family-one big community.
Living up
to the “apostles’ teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayers” and living into the mandate of that prayer
might seem overwhelming if we had to do it by ourselves, but we don’t. We are
in a community of fellow believers that support us. As the old hymn says "Yes, we are the family of God; And He's brought us together To be one in Him That we might bring light to the world..." Over the next 4 weeks we’ll
look at the other parts of the Covenant and how we support one another to live
a Lively Faith in Lent and beyond.
Lively prayer
gives us a way to “persevere
in resisting evil, repent and return to the Lord.”Lively Study is
the way we learn how to “proclaim
by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.”Lively Action
teaches us to “seek
and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself.”Lively Listening
helps us hear the need as we “strive
for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human
being.”
Incidentally, there will be a retreat in El Paso on March 1-2 focusing on this topic of a Lively Lent that you are welcome to join if you are in the area. (http://varietiesofgifts.blogspot.com/p/whats-happening-in-drg-for-women.html)
*Episcopal
Book of Common Prayer page 304 (http://bcponline.org/)
