Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”
Learning the arts and crafts of this world often involve mastering certain skills until they become second nature, then building on those foundation skills even more extraordinary abilities. I learned addition and subtraction, then multiplication and division, then algebra, geometry and -- I never got to first base with trigonometry.
Learning spiritual arts and crafts is a different kind of study because we keep relearning the basics. Learning to pray leads us inevitably back to "Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may life...."
As today's collect says, " that all we do may begin from you and by you be brought to completion." It is the Lord who gives us life in the first place. When we choose to accept the life he gives us, he brings it to completion. We simply pray that we might remain faithful through the harrowing process.
At one time, church historians tell us, the forty days of Lent were devoted to prayers for the catechumens. These aspiring Christians had been preparing for a year or more for Baptism. During Lent they were introduced to the congregation which then committed itself to forty days of prayer and fasting on their behalf.
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| wind-dried flowers |
During Lent we should pray that we are found worthy to receive new members. If our liturgical celebrations and practical good works have not attracted God-seekers, there may be something seriously wrong. Perhaps we have forgotten to choose life. If we fail to do that, we cannot expect to have a long life in the land God swore he would give us.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.