Just give up!

Reflection by Fr. David

The Ash Wednesday liturgy is always sobering. There's all that talk about sin, of course, but what particularly unsettles me is the list of things I should do if I really want to observe a holy Lent: self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, self-denial, reading and meditating on Scripture, and performing acts of charity. That would all be in addition to just living: loving and caring for my family, fulfilling my ministry as a priest, maintaining my friendships, exercising, getting enough sleep, and doing the myriad chores and errands one does just to get through the day. In what is already a busy and often hectic existence, Lent can feel like a hyper-caffeinated life coach barging in and saying, "Come on! You gotta do more!"

That can't be what this season's all about -- or at least, I refuse to believe that's what it's all about. So I will now share with you my primary Lenten discipline:

I just give up.

I don't mean that I don't observe Lent: I do, and I take it seriously. But over the years it has struck me more and more that what our tradition calls us to do at this time of year is to strip down and simplify our life. And if you're at all like me, that can seem impossible: it feels like everyone wants a piece of me, and there are more things I am supposed to do than I could ever hope to do in the course of a day. The drive to produce and achieve can feel relentless and unstoppable, raising my stress level and making me a decidedly less Christ-centered, Spirit-filled person.

So I just give up.

For me that takes concrete form by stopping everything during the middle of the day, usually in the afternoon. I turn off my phone, close my computer, and sit for half an hour. I practice contemplative prayer. I breathe. And I accomplish nothing. That means some emails won't get answered as quickly, some calls will not get returned right away. It may delay work on a sermon or a visit to the hospital. But I have come to see that this is the most spiritually significant and life-giving thing I can do because it connects me -- or rather, it re-minds me of the deep connection I already have -- with God.

Jesus says, "Abide in me as I abide in you" (John 15:4). Paul tells us that we are "being rooted and grounded in love" (Ephesians 3:17). All of our activity can only be meaningful and fruitful when we live deeply and deliberately connected to the One who is the source of life and love. No matter how busy he is, Jesus always takes time to simply be with his Abba and he exhorts his friends to do the same. Without that connection, we are just going through the motions with increasing rapidity and decreasing value.There is a better way: our culture may not embrace it, but our counter-cultural faith has taught it from the beginning. Abiding in Christ and grounding ourselves in love may take different forms for each of us, but if you are busy, frazzled, stressed, over-extended and over-worked, let me suggest a wonderful Lenten discipline:

Just give up.