LK 5: 27-32
Today’s readings call me to challenge my vision of relationship. As I spent some time this week reflecting on the readings for today, I noted that I love the interplay between Isaiah’s words and Luke’s description of Jesus’ interaction with the tax collectors. I believe that these readings really call us to examine ourselves during Lent. How are we in relationship to ourselves, to God, and to others? How am I a restorer of ruined homesteads? How am I a repairer of the breach?
When I think about Isaiah’s words, I am called to consider that these homesteads are the landscapes of my own life. And these landscapes can sure be complicated! In the past few weeks, I’ve struggled with my own sense of self. My own personal homestead has been challenged. Perhaps it is because I’ve been tired; perhaps my own fears and anxieties have been getting the best of me in this cold weather where the sun doesn’t often shine; perhaps it is because I took a tumble on the ice. Lent is the time for me to examine that personal homestead and how my relationship with self is going. Maybe you struggle too – and maybe we together should not be so hard on ourselves and rely on prayer to bring us to a fuller sense of self.
Speaking of prayer, I’ve switched around my prayer habits a bit during the last couple of weeks and in concert with my relationship with self, I’ve looked at my relationship with God. My relationship with God is a vast homestead, and Lent calls me to really hone in and cultivate this homestead. Renewing myself and my relationship with God through the daily Examen is fruitful, but so is finding one moment of grace in each and every day. Together, let’s consider how we pray, how we are in relationship with God, and how we can experiment with prayer
during Lent.
Finally, I’ve looked at the vast panorama that is my relationship with others. Like the example of Jesus and the tax collectors, who really needs me now? What is my call, or rather obligation, to not only cultivate but to repair the homesteads of my relationships with others? How can I use prayer and self-reflection? How is my faith positioned to call me to be radically challenging, as Jesus was, to issues of intolerance and injustice? Together, let’s pray about our call to not only repair but to celebrate our relationships.
These homesteads represent for me, the story of Lent, and of Jesus’ journey to the cross. In my own personal landscape, Lent is a time of journeying together with Jesus and of finding the grace to examine the homesteads of my life.
Sue Chawszczewski is the Director of Campus Ministry.
Today’s readings call me to challenge my vision of relationship. As I spent some time this week reflecting on the readings for today, I noted that I love the interplay between Isaiah’s words and Luke’s description of Jesus’ interaction with the tax collectors. I believe that these readings really call us to examine ourselves during Lent. How are we in relationship to ourselves, to God, and to others? How am I a restorer of ruined homesteads? How am I a repairer of the breach?
When I think about Isaiah’s words, I am called to consider that these homesteads are the landscapes of my own life. And these landscapes can sure be complicated! In the past few weeks, I’ve struggled with my own sense of self. My own personal homestead has been challenged. Perhaps it is because I’ve been tired; perhaps my own fears and anxieties have been getting the best of me in this cold weather where the sun doesn’t often shine; perhaps it is because I took a tumble on the ice. Lent is the time for me to examine that personal homestead and how my relationship with self is going. Maybe you struggle too – and maybe we together should not be so hard on ourselves and rely on prayer to bring us to a fuller sense of self.
Speaking of prayer, I’ve switched around my prayer habits a bit during the last couple of weeks and in concert with my relationship with self, I’ve looked at my relationship with God. My relationship with God is a vast homestead, and Lent calls me to really hone in and cultivate this homestead. Renewing myself and my relationship with God through the daily Examen is fruitful, but so is finding one moment of grace in each and every day. Together, let’s consider how we pray, how we are in relationship with God, and how we can experiment with prayer
during Lent.
Finally, I’ve looked at the vast panorama that is my relationship with others. Like the example of Jesus and the tax collectors, who really needs me now? What is my call, or rather obligation, to not only cultivate but to repair the homesteads of my relationships with others? How can I use prayer and self-reflection? How is my faith positioned to call me to be radically challenging, as Jesus was, to issues of intolerance and injustice? Together, let’s pray about our call to not only repair but to celebrate our relationships.
These homesteads represent for me, the story of Lent, and of Jesus’ journey to the cross. In my own personal landscape, Lent is a time of journeying together with Jesus and of finding the grace to examine the homesteads of my life.
Sue Chawszczewski is the Director of Campus Ministry.
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