During previous Lents, I have been able to move beyond repentence to cherishing the simple truth of God’s presence. This year, however, I have stayed in confession mode … and I haven’t tried to move beyond it. But this has been ok.

As broken as I know I am — as flawed, as helpless, as ineffective, as uninspired, as sinful, as ugly, as so much the antithesis of Jesus of Nazareth –, I have not been entirely crushed and dejected.

Oddly, I have gained more peace knowing that I am but a poor sinner.

Why? Perhaps this is because I know I can’t go lower. But in fact, I can; and I have. Perhaps this is due to my complete dependence on grace. But in fact, I know grace without reponse is no grace at all.

No. It seems I have peace because I am basking in the reality that God is the antonym of me. Knowing who and what defines all that I am not, brings a calmness to my search for identity. Consequently, I can fully acknowledge who and what I am without fear … for I know what I am being shaped into.

My telos is not mine alone. I am part of all the creation that is being reconciled. While at peace with what I am, I can live peacefully as I move, ever so slowly, toward that which I will be.

So, my Lenten confession: I am the chiefest of all sinners and the antithesis of all that is God. But this does not define me. Rather, I am defined by that which I will be; in whose image I (and you) were created; under whose will I have only begun to bend.

Clinging to the hope who is the ending of my story.

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• A Lenten Exercise: Analyzing Exile – Conclusion
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Marked by Ashes

Ruler of the Night, Guarantor of the day . . .
This day — a gift from you.
This day — like none other you have ever given, or we have ever received.
This Wednesday dazzles us with gift and newness and possibility.
This Wednesday burdens us with the tasks of the day, for we are already halfway home
halfway back to committees and memos,
halfway back to calls and appointments,
halfway on to next Sunday,
halfway back, half frazzled, half expectant,
half turned toward you, half rather not.

This Wednesday is a long way from Ash Wednesday,
but all our Wednesdays are marked by ashes —
we begin this day with that taste of ash in our mouth:
of failed hope and broken promises,
of forgotten children and frightened women,
we ourselves are ashes to ashes, dust to dust;
we can taste our mortality as we roll the ash around on our tongues.

We are able to ponder our ashness with
some confidence, only because our every Wednesday of ashes
anticipates your Easter victory over that dry, flaky taste of death.

On this Wednesday, we submit our ashen way to you —
you Easter parade of newness.
Before the sun sets, take our Wednesday and Easter us,
Easter us to joy and energy and courage and freedom;
Easter us that we may be fearless for your truth.
Come here and Easter our Wednesday with
mercy and justice and peace and generosity.

We pray as we wait for the Risen One who comes soon.

Taken from Walter Brueggemann’s Prayers for a Privileged People (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008), pp. 27-28.

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Martin Luther once wrote:

“Original sin is in us, like the beard. We are shaved today and look clean, and have a smooth chin; tomorrow our beard has grown again, nor does it cease growing while we remain on earth.”

Over 3 weeks in growing the beard now.  I’ve sort of plateaued with most of it.  The gotee area continues to grow nicely.

Heather tells me she hopes I keep the beard and don’t cut it come Easter.  I really don’t know what to make of that!

The growth is uneven.  Just like my life, there are areas where sin can grow quite easily and some areas that will rarely if ever see sin.

This whole exercise has me thinking about original sin.

Could pride simply be my constant desire to trust myself and my ways rather than God and God’s ways?  Is this the basest form of all sin?

Do I tend toward trusting in myself because I don’t want to become little … to become nothing … to be totally dependent on God alone?

I am attempting to “do” less in regards to faith.  That is to say, when I try to “accomplish” less, I tend to trust God more.  It’s at those times I’m closer to the center of God’s will.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
Do you struggle with trusting yourself rather than God?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.Related Posts:

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Martin Luther once wrote:

“Original sin is in us, like the beard. We are shaved today and look clean, and have a smooth chin; tomorrow our beard has grown again, nor does it cease growing while we remain on earth.”

It’s been just over 2 weeks since this little Lenten exercise began. I’ve become oddly comfortable with the unevenness of my facial hair. It doesn’t yet itch. I’m sure that’s to come soon.

I’m amazed at how quickly I’ve grown (pun intended) accustomed to this emerging beard. I get surprised looks from people who know me but haven’t seen me in a few weeks. Then I remember, “Oh yeah, I look like an unshaven, unkempt, fill-in-the-blank to this person.”

Such situations have opened up great conversations.

“Why the, ummm, beard?”

“Well, you see, I and some other guys in my church have given up shaving for Lent to remind us of our sin.”

“Uh-huh. And you want to be reminded of your sin?”

“Yes, so that I don’t let it have power over me …”

And so on.

My “beard” is by no means attractive at this point. Although, my wife tells me she likes it … Not sure what to make of that.

Sin is not attractive either. But it can easily become something that no longer surprises us. We can quickly grow accustomed to sin and the power it has over us.

I’m praying for the strength of Christ’s Spirit to remind me of how easily I can be lulled into the lie … and for the perseverance to run as fast as I can away from that lie.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
What’s something that you’ve learned about the nature of sin?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.Related Posts:

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What then are the responses to exile that speak into the church today? Where do appropriate responses begin?

The acknowledgement of exile must begin with local church leaders. The local church exists as a remnant as it were; the good figs that can be the conduits for the future of God’s will. The local church desperately needs to end denial and cover-up of the exilic situation. Stark awareness of the parallels between Biblical exile and the contemporary church must be accepted.

The local church, allowing for brokenness as reality, will find pain and hardship. Yet, out of this pain will flow grief. Local leaders must allow their congregations to grieve the loss of old ideologies and deluded notions of security. From grief grows the possibility for newness.

Hope in the midst of seeming hopelessness can be found again in God alone. The holiness of our holy God has proven time after time to be the wellspring of hope fulfilled. A true perspective of our heritage of faith in light of God’s holiness clearly shows that authentic faith is in direct opposition to the dominant values and perspectives of contemporary US American culture that by-pass grief, holiness, and memory in favor of the fleeting present.

The Christian community living in exile in US America must investigate the lessons from our past. Delving into the former traditions, retelling the working of a holy God in our community, leads to a new narration incorporating the memory of tradition and heritage in faith. Such a re-narration opens the way for new possibility.

What forms this new possibility will take, who can say? The Biblical perspective of exile teaches the contemporary Christian community that God alone works out something new.

With the prospect of such hope and possibility, the church can return to the business of simply being the church–being the people of God. The church is in the empire and cannot separate itself. Nor can it assimilate into the empire without losing theological identity. The community of faith must re-tradition itself to being the people of God while living in the empire. This learning process will evolve as the church moves through grief to hope and possibility.

The church can re-establish its own identity, its own culture, in the midst of an opposing system. The church, by simply being people of God, will become a social and spiritual voice. The voice may not be accepted by the world, nor even considered authoritative by the majority, but the voice must be heard. The leaders of the Us American church must speak the words of God into their communities of faith so that the church in turn can speak the words of God into the dominant cultural perspectives. Absolute devotion to God’s holiness as our only source of life becomes the method for re-narrating our present while remembering our past and looking creatively toward a future dreamed by God.

SO TELL ME SOMETHING:
What other possibilities do you see?

——

Brian Niece
www.brianniece.com
If you enjoyed this post, get free updates by email or RSS.Related Posts:

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• A Lenten Exercise: Analyzing Exile 1