An invitation

“Come back to me with all your heart, don’t let fear keep us … long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life.” These beautiful words are found in the Old Testament Book of the Prophet Hosea. They have been put to song by the monks of Weston Priory and today they serve as reminder to us that we are just a few days away from Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent 2013. Living life deeply with the Lord is just one of the invitations of Lent, but it is primary. Because of the demands of everyday life, living deeply may seem out of reach. Many feel fortunate to simply make it through the chores and activities of the day, let alone living life with purpose and meaning.

In the gospel of Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus offers us a path for living life deeply with him. He lays before us a kind of blueprint that includes prayer, fasting and almsgiving. By elaborating on each of these, Jesus shows us how they can be our path to him and also our way to the Father.

In prayer, we simply make it a priority to have a conversation with God each day. His words to us are words of life. Listening is an indispensable part of prayer. In our words to him, we express praise, thanksgiving and we lay our needs and concerns before him.

In fasting we simply do a bit of self-emptying to make room for the greater gifts God desires to give us. By fasting, we open a place within. Through fasting we become more human because we deliberately attune ourselves to the plight of those in our world who do not have the means to satisfy even their physical hungers.

Through our almsgiving we remember that all we have, everything, is gift from God. Living as stewards of those gifts by sharing joyfully what we have with others is simply what God expects of us. Furthermore, it is what fulfills us, because deep within we are created in the likeness of God and the very nature of God is self-giving.

In the Book of the Prophet Hosea, God reminds us of his desire and longing that we join our lives to his and in that togetherness that we live life deeply. Because we loose sight of that, because we are busy about many things, because we subtly shift our priorities, Lent is given to us as a time to refocus, realign and recommit ourselves to the richer and deeper life – the life that God desires for us and that we ourselves long for. May the graces of this sacred season be with each of us to renew us and to renew the face of the earth.