Prior to the COVID shutdowns it seemed unpopular and out of fashion to talk about spiritual disciplines. John Dickson from the Centre of Public Christianity said it was easier for people to give up alcohol for Feb Fast than to think about giving up something for Lent. It seems that the idea of spiritual disciplines or spiritual habits was going out of fashion at the very time that the secular world was reading popular books like “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
When COVID hit, the world went into Lockdowns. Lockdowns highlighted that all of us needed to quickly develop daily rituals to separate our work and home life while remaining in the same space. Without the benefit of “going” to church, Christians had to work out their spiritual disciplines while living at home 24/7. So, the idea of spiritual disciplines became popular again. Christians had to rely on their own daily bible reading, quiet prayer and listening to worship music because they could no longer go to church to hear the bible read, pray with the congregation or sing with the worship team.
Now in 2023 as the hybrid world seems to be drifting back to in person and in the office routines, those who follow Jesus need to refresh our spiritual disciplines once again. Each of us need to intentionally carve out time for God as the busyness of work and life flood back into our lives. Each person needs to maintain or renew the spiritual disciplines that kept them strong throughout the lockdowns in order to stay spiritually strong in a world return to busy culture.
Lent has been the season in the church year where Christians refresh and renew their spiritual habits, disciplines, and practices. God doesn’t need us to “do” Lent because he wants a relationship with us 365 days a year. However as human beings we need Lent because it is an annual reminder that we naturally drift out of spiritual disciplines. The encouragement to each of us during the season of Lent is to focus on improving one spiritual discipline so that it becomes a more natural habit.
Here are a few examples:
1. Silence – allocate some time in your day to silence with the intention to listen to God. Don’t have any music on and clear your mind of your own thoughts so you tune into God. Perhaps at the start of Lent you might only be able to last 2-3 minutes in silence, but over the 40 days of Lent you might be able to spend longer in silence listening to God.
2. Scripture – allocate some time each day to meditate on a passage of scripture. Rather than trying to read long passages of scripture, meditate on a few verses asking God to speak to you though his word. During the season of Lent you might choose to meditate on the Gospel of Matthew or John.
3. Sacrifice – consider giving up something for Lent as a way of reminding you that Christians around the world do without. Some people use Lent as a period of fasting in order to draw closer to God. For centuries Christians have fasted from the luxuries of life during Lent so that the Easter celebration becomes more meaningful as a celebration.
4. Study – allocate some time in your day to the study of theology. Rather than giving up something for Lent, Lent might become a season to develop the habit of spiritual reading and study. Pick an area of theology or ministry and learn more about it through reading books or listening to podcasts. We have a great range of theology books in the Parish office for you to borrow during Lent.
5. Prayer Services – consider joining us for a morning prayer service on Zoom each Monday morning from 9-9:45am. During the season of Lent, I will also offer our Zoom morning prayer on Wednesday mornings at 7:30-8am before many head off to work. Another option is to come to a new Saturday morning prayer in the side chapel of the church at 8am on Saturday mornings. These three timeslots for communal prayer will focus on praying for the growth and health of our church.
The focus of Lent is not so much on the spiritual discipline but refreshing and renewing your relationship with God. It is important not to become like the Pharisees who obsessed over their observance of the Law. Rather we use Lent to deepen our relationship with God; something that will benefit us long after the season of Lent has concluded.
Rev Mark McDonald.
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