• About The Alternate Path

The Alternate Path

~ Thoughts on Walking the Path of Christian Discipleship

The Alternate Path

Monthly Archives: February 2020

Lent 101: Our sin and God’s response.

29 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by mcummins2172 in homily, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

1st Sunday of Lent, Christianity, discipleship, Servant, temptation of Christ

1ce72-ashwednesday-christThere is a salvific equation at work in the readings for this first Sunday of Lent and it is important to recognize as we begin this Lenten season and our journey to Easter. The equation is this: we sinned by trying to grasp the glory of God and God saves us by letting go of His glory and becoming a servant.

Adam and Eve are tempted by the serpent in the garden. “You certainly will not die! No. God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is evil.” We try to grasp the glory that is due to God alone. We try to make of ourselves little gods – controlling our world, controlling everything, answerable only to ourselves! It is a form of pride and it is the root of all sin. We sin by trying to claim the glory of God for ourselves.

God answers not by condemning nor by destroying all of sinful humanity and starting anew. No, God answers our insult by coming even closer than before. God enters into his very creation in the form of a servant. In the temptations in the desert we find Jesus taking on the mantle and role of the servant.

The servant is the one who is never satisfied in his own needs because he is required first and foremost to see to the satisfaction of his master. The servant is the one who claims no special status. He is just a servant after all. The servant has no power. In each of the three temptations we see our Lord taking on the mantle of the servant.

“Command that these stones become loaves of bread,” tempts Satan. “You are hungry. You have been fasting. See to your own needs first. Satisfy your hunger, turn these stones into loaves of bread!” Our Lord refuses. He will be a servant and a servant does not see to his own needs first. Jesus overcomes the devil’s temptation by falling back on the word of God.

“Throw yourself down from this parapet,” tempts Satan, “God will protect you! You are his son after all.” “Claim your special status and make sure all the world sees it and acknowledges it!” Jesus refuses. He will not put his Father to the test. Jesus is the one “who though in the form of God did not deem equality with God something to be grasped, but rather took the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men.” Jesus will be a servant. He will not claim special status.

In the final temptation, the devil shows our Lord all the power of the world and offers it to him if only Jesus will bow down in worship. Jesus will not claim the power and he will not worship the tempter. “The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” Jesus is to be a servant.

By the end of the temptations, Jesus has fully vested himself in the mantle of the servant – the one who does not seek his own satisfaction, the one who claims no special status, the one who has no power. Now, he begins his journey toward Jerusalem and the great work of our salvation.

We sinned by trying to grasp the glory of God. God saves us by becoming a servant.

One further thought as we begin these weeks. Let’s not lose sight of the forest for the trees. It is easy to get focused in on what we are going to do for these next forty days – what we will give up, how we will pray, what we will do – that we actually lose sight of the great work that has already been done! Yes, there is importance to prayer, fasting and almsgiving – none of this is being denied – but make sure these next forty days to also leave space for wonder. Make sure to take time to wonder, to just be amazed at what God has done and continues to do in Christ our Lord! How we are saved by this God who became servant. Wonder (and out of that gratitude) is also an important aspect of the Lenten journey.

We sinned by trying to grasp the glory of God. God saves us by becoming a servant.

Salt and Light: a task we are given

08 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by mcummins2172 in homily, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

"Beginner's Pluck", Christianity, discipleship, Jesus, Liz Forkin Bohannon, salt and light

Jesus-Christ-from-Hagia-SophiaI have been reading a book by Liz Forkin Bohannon entitled “Beginner’s Pluck” – not “luck” but “pluck” with a “p”. The author has some good insights and she is not afraid to take on some sacred cows in our times and culture. One of these sacred cows is the myth of “finding your passion” in life and she addresses this in a chapter aptly entitled, “Stop Trying to ‘Find Your Passion’”.

Her point is that passion is not found but built. Here I want to share a quote from her book,

     The critical difference is this: when you set out to “find” something, it requires that you know what you’re looking for. When we believe in the notion that we will eventually “find” our purpose and passion, we bide our time, living only half alive and gripped by fear. We look to others who have already “found it,” and we get jealous, overwhelmed, and confused when we try to run someone else’s race because we want to end up where they are.
     We cling to the narrative of “finding” because it is self-soothing and gives us permission to be passive, and we fall asleep to the world and to the work that is right in front of us.
     We can blame our lack of direction and purpose on The Universe and Other Vague External Factors instead of taking responsibility for our own lives and moving forward with courage and intentionality.
     When we believe our passion and purpose is waiting to be found, we wait instead of create.
     The mentality around creating and building is much different than finding or discovering. Have you ever heard an author describe the process of writing the novel without knowing how the story ends? They don’t talk about the moment when they finally found the perfect last sentence which then gave them permission to start writing. They talk about how each day, they sit down with an openness to where the narrative will go, and they know they must write it into existence. In the end, they sit back and marvel not at their discovery, but at their creation.
     Your passion isn’t found in your dreaming. It’s made by your doing.

Here is the connection to this Sunday’s readings. In today’s gospel (Mt. 5:13-16) our Lord says, “You are the salt of the earth … You are the light of the world.” This is not meant to be a nice description we can pat ourselves on the back for. “Hey, look at what the Son of God said we are!” It is not that. It is a task to be lived. How do we recognize it is a task to be lived? Because immediately our Lord then goes on to caution that salt can lose its taste and a light can be hidden.

This understanding is backed up in the first reading from Isaiah (Is. 58:7-10). “Thus says the Lord: Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless; clothe the naked when you see them, and do not turn your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn…” These are all “doing” words, active verbs. They are not passive.

“Salt of the earth” and “Light of the world” are not meant to be nice little descriptions that the Christian can sit comfortably and passively within. They are a task we are given by our Lord himself – tasks to which we will have to give an accounting of.

I like Bohannon’s writing because she is quite honest and she is not afraid to even call herself out. The business she created helps women and girls in impoverished areas around the world but she admits she was not “born” with this passion, rather it grew over time as she made choices, as she investigated and explored things. This is how it really happens. The “Find your Passion” myth often cripples us because it seems so big and daunting from the outset that we just become stuck and not sure what to do. “Forget all that,” says the author and she offers some sound advice from her own life to get beyond that hurdle. “What are you interested in? What intrigues you?” Do the work of exploring that and then see where you go. Both our passion and our purpose our built – not found.

God provides his grace but God does not overwhelm our wills. God wants us to play our part in the equation. We are not meant to be passive bystanders to our lives and our time in this world. This is not what our Lord means when he says we are salt and light. By saying salt and light, our Lord has given us a task that we are each meant to live and to do.

Follow The Alternate Path on WordPress.com

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Previous Posts

  • April 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007

Popular Posts

  • mcummins2172.files.wordpr…

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×