"Yes and No"

A better heading for this reflection may be "No and Yes." Lent and Easter are about hearing God's "No" and God's "Yes" to us. First, Lent is about hearing God's "No." That can be a challenge. Lent is a quiet season, a season of silence. This is not the silence of shame or
defeat, but a time of deepening awareness. It is a time for seeing more clearly who we are and who we are meant to be. Seeking clarity and meaning in our lives is not something we have to do alone, in fact, most of us cannot do it alone. During this season, the
church reminds us of the disciplines we have for the task of facing ourselves and God:

• Regular worship and communion together. The liturgies of Lent help us focus on honesty and reconciliation so that we may prepare for joy.
• Daily scripture or inspirational reading. Scripture and the written wisdom of others remind us that other folks have turned back from harm's way.
• Daily prayer. Telling God what we need to be our true selves and listening for God's will for us is central to who we are and who we are to become.
• Fasting. Fasting is about turning away from those things we love more than wholeness, turning away from those things that are not good for us or that distract us from God and one another.
• Almsgiving. Lent is about more than giving something up. It is about giving of ourselves-our time, talent or money-where there is human need.

Recommitting to these disciplines during Lent helps clear our minds, unclutter our lives, and turn our attention toward God. To see who we are, most of us really need this time to realize that the 'devices and desires of our own hearts' can get us nowhere fast. We may be struggling with our own weaknesses, errors or failures. We may be suffering under the weight of some past deed. During Lent, we are invited to hide no longer from ourselves. We are urged toward a deeper awareness that God
knows our sorrow, shame and suffering. Because in Lent we are assured anew of the mercies of God, we can face our own disappointments, resignation and rage.

We can hear God's "No" to us, when we accept the habits that keep us from being whole, healthy and well-adjusted. We can hear God's "No" to those choices in our corporate, civil lives that bury us alive with fear and pain. We can hear God's "No" to those things done in our names that hurt others. God's "No" is a signal that something is deeply wrong with something equally important. In a world that says "Yes" to just about anything we want to do, Lent is our invitation to draw aside and be with God and one another for a purpose. Lent is our time to become more clearly aware of things in our lives that are sorely in need of change or healing.

Our Lenten Scriptures, hymns and prayers all point toward two things: hearing God's "No" to anything that keeps us from having a full and joyous life and hearing God's "Yes" in the promise that, with the Risen Christ, we will find the help we need to live the life for which we were created. This assurance of the abiding power and presence of God to amend our lives is just as real as any sin or sorrow we bear. God says "Yes" to healing our contrite and broken lives. This is the message of Lent. God says "Yes" to joyful new life for us. This is the message of Easter!

--Rev. Ann H. Franklin

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Christmas 2004