Second Sunday in Lent
Ok, the fun part’s over. Time to buckle down, grit your teeth and settle into your Lenten commitments. I find that the first few days of Lent are pretty easy. The Lenten sacrifices are still new, and I feel excited that they will help form me into a better person and a better disciple, one more capable of experiencing true Joy and able to do the will of God more effectively in my life. That feeling lasts about a few days. Then the grind sets in and I realize just how far it is to Easter.
Our readings this Sunday, especially our second reading from Philippians, remind us that ultimately, we are not citizens of the United States, or whichever country we live in, but are in fact, as baptized Christians, citizens of Heaven. As such, our earthly existence is not static. We are travelers, or pilgrims on a journey, and the destination is Heaven, our true Home. The first reading talks about Abram, “Our Father in Faith” trusting himself and his future to God. God promises him not only a homeland, but descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. We are the descendants of Abram’s (eventually Abraham’s) faith in God’s promise. We too must learn to trust in God, and as pilgrims on the journey of life, we must reorient our hearts to yearn for our ultimate destination, our final and eternal homeland.
I think that is what Lent is about. It is about making sure that our internal spiritual compass points to the True North, to our ultimate goal, and does not become fixated on the things of this world, the passing goods that bring only fleeting happiness. For, while there are many goods that we can and should enjoy in this life, if they take the place of God, the ultimate Good, then they need to be put back into their rightful place. So take courage, as the Lenten sacrifices start to become more difficult, rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to give you the grace to say no to the lesser good of this world and to say yes to the ultimate Good of a life spent in eternity with God.