2nd Peter 1.16-21; Matthew 17.1-9
“You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”
In today’s second reading, St Peter directs our full attention to Jesus Christ. In Jesus, the prophetic word of scripture is “fully confirmed,” says Peter. The Son of God is, as the Gospel of John says, our life and light, “the light that shines in the darkness,” the light no darkness can overcome Peter knew his readers needed to hear this; they were well acquainted with darkness. In the surrounding culture, they were marginalized for their faith; within the church they were disillusioned by some teachers of the faith. Peter encourages believers to remain faithful and focused on Jesus even when opposing voices are overbearing and trying to drown out the truth. In the gospel, Peter, James, and John witness the majesty of Jesus at his Transfiguration: face shining like the sun; clothes dazzling white; the voice from heaven affirming Jesus’ identity, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well-pleased. Listen to him.” Listen to him. What upholds believers in dark times is the strength that comes from focusing on Jesus—not our circumstances, not our failures, not even our feelings.
“You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place.”
Lent begins Wednesday. Whether this forty-day season comes early or late it always seems to sneak up on me. This week I saw a picture of a car’s right-side mirror. “Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.” But instead of the reflection of traffic in the mirror, there was a word: Lent. Lent is closer than it appears.
The word ‘Lent’ comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘lengthening.’ It describes the lengthening of days from winter to spring, the growth of daylight, something especially noticeable in the last week or so. Lent, close as it is, has movement, too, and offers the opportunity to grow in faith. Today, then, is a good day to consider how to observe the season: intentionally focusing on Christ, practicing a life of faith that could very well be at odds with the habits we slip into, hungering and thirsting for lasting value and meaning, and rediscovering all the ways God’s grace provides hope like a lamp shining in a dark place.
To some, Lent might seem like a burden and pain—forty days of organized gloom. It can also be a disappointment if expectations going into it are false. But it can be a season of growth in faith and life unlike any other time. So today I would like to offer a workable way to keep Lent and suggest three spiritual practices that I’m going to be intentional about this Lent and would love to have you join me; three things you might take up on three different days of the week: silence, study, and service.
That’s workable. None of those are Olympian; they’re ordinary, within reach of each of us. Silence, study, and service—not all at once, not all day, and not every day, but one part of one day each week devoted to one of those acts: time for silence on Monday, study on Wednesday, and an act of service on Friday. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays in between are days off. Athletes build rest days into their training schedules because recovery makes their hard work more effective and easier to stick with. If a day off works for Olympians, it can certainly work for us ordinary believers. All the days of Lent then become a way to keep our focus on Christ as a lamp shining in a dark place.
First, Mondays and silence. You might, for example, set aside fifteen minutes during the day to do nothing at all: no talking, no listening, no reading, no scrolling, no thinking: just sit there and stare into space and wasting time.
This will be hard for many of us. Blaise Pascal, the French inventor, mathematician, and philosopher of 400 years ago said, “All of humanity’s problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” I don’t know what distracted Pascal in the 1600s but I do know what distracts me today and keeps me from being attentive to Christ.
Now the mere idea of fifteen minutes of silence and nothing might unsettle you, let alone the reality of practicing it. Silence often confronts us with unresolved emotions and inner restlessness, the very things we’d rather avoid. Yet it was in the sound of sheer silence that the prophet Elijah was met by God—a still, small voice.
Fifteen minutes may be too much to start with; you’ll know soon enough. But the practice of silence is something you will need to be intentional about. It’s best to set aside the same time each Monday—early morning, a midday break, or early evening; just not right before you go to bed because you will fall asleep and that doesn’t count. You may discover, as Lent lengthens, that this spiritual practice might, too—twice the same day or adding minutes as Lent goes on. Mondays in Lent are devoted to silence.
On Wednesday, time is devoted to study. Anglican spiritual tradition has long had the practice of taking up what is sometimes called a ‘Lent book.’ Among the practices of Lent named in the Ash Wednesday service—self-examination and repentance, prayer, fasting, and self-denial—is reading and meditating on God’s word.
For study on Wednesday, the midweek Bible Study fits the bill. Or you might consider reading through the psalms as a personal practice. That won’t be as easy as it sounds. Not all are as comforting as Psalm 23; some express raw emotion over injustice in the world and suffering in our lives; others carry meaning difficult to unpack. But like a favorite song that you listen to, with lyrics you don’t always catch or later discover that you’ve misheard for years, listen to the psalms speak to you where they can and let the rest go for another time. The prayer book has ways to organize this; we can talk. A Lent book, however, doesn’t need to be a book of the Bible or a devotional book. It could be a biography of someone you are interested in. The Son of God took on human flesh, embracing the fullness of human life; that means the stories and lives of others can be a window into the Spirit’s activity and the work of God.
Monday silence, Wednesday study, and Friday devoted to service. The prayer after communion each week asks that we would be guided in the work God has given us to do. This comes from the New Testament letter of Ephesians, “We are what God has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
There are always God-given opportunities to serve: to support a charitable cause or care for a person on the streets who asks for help; to run an errand for someone or give time to a neighbor who could use a visit; to go through your closet and give what you no longer need to someone who does—St Basil once said, “the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it.” Friday’s acts of service don’t need to be Olympian; they can be small, daily. To make a meal for family or friends with mindfulness on God is an act of service because to feed the hungry is to care for Jesus himself.
Now when it comes to service you can’t do everything, so don’t try. Instead, focus on finding a specific place where you can make a difference. Then the silence, study, and the attention you have focused on Christ shining like a lamp becomes, through service, your light for people in their darkness.
All of this will take effort: Monday’s silence, Wednesday’s study, Friday’s service. That is why there is time built in for rest and reflection on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday; it allows space to give thanks for what went well or prayerfully consider what didn’t go the way you intended and why.
As for Sundays? Be here. That’s your habit anyway, but Lent is a good time to be intentional about it; and if you’re travelling, find a church wherever you are. From the earliest time of the church, Christians have known the importance of getting together. The letter of Hebrews says, “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together…but encouraging one another.” There are enough things these days that wear us down. So it is important to come here on Sundays and be together for refreshment, restoration, and encouragement, both in God and with other members of the Body of Christ. Come to church in Lent to sing and pray, to be strengthened in Word and Sacrament, and to be attentive to Christ, so that you can carry on with Lent during the week.
We are made for the truth of God and the great realities of God: of faith and hope; of sin and grace; of love and justice; of life and death; of time and eternity. Lent is the opportune time to be attentive to the life of Christ; to be intentional about practicing a life of faith and redirecting and recalibrating the way we normally live; to hunger and thirst for the beauty, goodness, and truth of God that offer lasting value and meaning.
The image in today’s reading from 2nd Peter of a lamp shining in a dark place reminds us that God has not left us without guidance. “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well-pleased. Listen to him.” No darkness can overcome the light of Christ. When we are uncertain, discouraged, or distracted, we direct our focus on Christ to receive encouragement from his goodness and the strength to persevere, even if that’s just for the next day, or the next step, or even the next breath. With Lent closer than it appears, today is a good day to consider what we might do to make the best use of our days and be renewed again in God’s gifts of grace and hope. Silence, study, and service are all spiritual practices to help us grow into the life that God intends—the deepening and lengthening of our faith.
“You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
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