By now we are halfway through the Lenten season. So how are you doing? Have you kept your Lenten promises? For me, the discipline and sacrifice is a daily struggle. Some days are better than others. I guess that’s why it’s called sacrifice. Sacrifice leads us closer to God. Lent is a journey to the celebration of the Resurrection. It is movement not to the past, but forward to God’s divine plan for each of us. The past – the events of our suffering and our challenges –are part of this sojourn. We look to the Resurrection as our reason for living.
I recently visited the Gateway, a men’s shelter in downtown Lynchburg for recovering addicts. I couldn’t help but relate my Lenten journey with the men with whom I talked and ate dinner. They too are on a journey. Like me, they suffer while trying to live meaningful and productive lives. This is a time of sacrifice and discipline for us all. For many of the men at Gateway, it is also a spiritual journey. Day by day they carry their crosses to ward off temptation and offer their addictions to God. Through AA and NA they welcome new opportunities to give more direction and meaning to their lives. Each day can be a day of suffering, but it can also be a day of resurrection, a step in the direction of being free from pain and dependence on earthly things and more dependence on God. I know that is what Lent is for me. It is about knowing that I am nothing without God.
For these men who have shared their stories with me, their journeys are about transforming their suffering into good, about transforming their lives and self-worth into dependence on something other than their addiction. Unfortunately, they, like Jesus, can feel judged. At the Gateway, I have met gracious, kind and hard-working men who can at times feel worthless, helpless, or frustrated over their life circumstances. They can feel misunderstood, ignored and isolated. But luckily, as God would have it, goodness comes. Goodness becomes our resurrection. Resurrection always comes to end our suffering.
During Lent, I try to focus less on me and more on others. I offer my personal struggles over to Christ just as these men unload their burdens of addiction. Is it hard for the men and for me? You bet! Do we fail at times? Of course. What resurrection promises is that things can always be new again. It’s never too late to start over. Nothing is irrevocable. Every form of death can be overcome. There isn’t any loss that cannot be redeemed. Every day is a gift. Every day is a new attempt to grow closer to God.
We experience resurrection by looking within our hearts. Author Ron Rolheiser says in his book The Holy Longing that “…on the morning of the Resurrection, the women-followers of Jesus set out for the tomb of Jesus… but they find an empty tomb…. An angel questions them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? Go instead into Galilee and you will find him there!” You will find the gift of resurrection made possible by Jesus. Go instead into Galilee. Why Galilee?
Galilee is not simply a geographical location but a place in the heart. Galilee refers to the experience the disciples had with Jesus, to that place and time when their hearts most burned with hope and enthusiasm. I think for many of the men I have met, their Galilee is the Gateway. It is the place for hope and renewal. It is a place for dreams and a safe place to trust in God. It is a place to start anew and find support in their journeys. It is a place where I certainly feel the presence of God and hope for goodness through our personal experiences of resurrection.
I hope during this Lenten season you are able to realize and find your Galilee and know of the power of resurrection in your life. Kaky.