Third Sunday of Lent

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031112.cfm

A nuthatch descends the tree head first. 

"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.


I often hear -- and I am sure you also hear -- "I don't believe in organized religion." As a hospital chaplain it's not my role to ask the patient what he means by "organized religion." He didn't come to the hospital to see me, and certainly doesn't want to engage in philosophical discussion. I take the statement as a dismissal and go looking for more receptive patients. 

That's why I keep this "homily blog" -- to allow myself to air opinions that should not resound through the quiet corridors of a hospital. 

"Organized religion" in usual parlance probably refers to organizations of people who are hierarchically organized and espouse certain beliefs. Those who use the phrase usually say they want no part of it. They may be loners, or they may have found a different set of (organized) beliefs in motorcycle clubs, martial arts, alcohol or spectator sports. 

But I think "organized religion" actually refers to the times and seasons which religious people observe. Because the clergy of the Catholic Church has less and less influence in the political and religious thinking of Catholics; and because the number of priests is decreasing as our hair gets thinner and grayer; even as the number of Catholics actually increases in the United States -- I suspect membership will be more about observing the times and seasons:

"Today is Sunday; let's go to Church.""This is Lent; let's do penance." "This is Advent; let's observe the fast.""Today is Easter Sunday! Alleluia!" ...

There will always be the cynics who say, "We should not do penance only during Lent!" or "We should celebrate the Lord's Resurrection every day!" They would dismiss the whole notion of holy days and seasons. Some would even dismantle holy buildings and sites, saying  "God is everywhere!" 

But if God is everywhere, He's nowhere. And if every day is holy, no day is holy. The foundation of secularity is that refusal to honor times, seasons, places, customs or persons as holy. Their "belief" in God is mostly imaginary, a convenient fiction when the subject of belief comes up. 

Religious people will always set aside certain portions of our life to observe the presence of God. We cannot and need not be obsessive about it. When Saint Paul said "Pray always" he didn't suppose that we'd have no time to eat or sleep or work. He meant, "Consecrate each day, week, season and year by dedicating a portion of your time to prayer." 

This consecration of the Sabbath -- in Christian tradition, the first day of the week -- is fundamental to our practice of organized religion. Lent also belongs to prayer, especially to prayers of penance and contrition. These practices set us apart. They make us holy, a healing presence in this sorely troubled world.