Day Seventeen, Third Friday of Lent.

Do we want things of the ego or things of the Spirit?

Matthew 21: 33 - 46

33“ Listen to another parable. 

There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. 

When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 

Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. 

Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.’ 

So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 

Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants? They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time.” 

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; a this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.” 

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. 46They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

That’s quite a story.

Some people are never satisfied. They never can get enough. No matter what they have, it is never good enough and they have to have a little bit more. They are a bottomless pit which can never be filled.

Jesus tells us in this parable that such people are never happy and even though they appear successful it is a pseudo success and have nothing of value to offer. It is often the poor, weak, and apparently unsuccessful in the eye of the world of the ego who become the cornerstone of the world of Spirit.
Those in power were upset and wanted to silence Jesus for his telling stories that they thought made them look bad. Jesus was going against the grain. Jesus was upsetting the apple cart of the current societal pecking order. Jesus was disturbing the status quo and those who benefited from the current state of affairs. The “tenants working the vineyard” were upset and wanted to silence HIm. They didn’t want to hear the truth about the world of Spirit. They wanted to continue to live comfortably in the world of the ego at everyone else’s expense.

At this time of Lent, we give things up. It is suggested that we give up the things of the ego. The things of the ego are false idols who will never make us deeply satisfied and fulfilled. We are asked to turn to the things of Spirit like love, truth, and justice which are substantive and bring us everlasting peace and bliss. The things of the Spirit are the cornerstone on which the things of the ego are dashed and smashed into insignificant pieces. The things of the Spirit: love, truth, and justice will, in the long run, be our source of strength on which our lives in the world of Spirit can be built.

Lenten Reflections, Day Sixteen, Third Thursday of Lent, Engaging in the search for Love.

Day Sixteen, Third Thursday of Lent

Engaging in the search for Love.

Luke 16: 19 - 31

19“ There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man's table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. 

The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side.He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ 

But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ 

He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers— that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ 

Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ 

He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 

31He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

What does it take for people to listen and learn to the Spirit? Do they have to hit bottom? Do things have to get worse before they get better?

When things in the ego world hit bottom, it dawns on people that there might be a better way to live their lives. They denied, minimized, avoided, told themselves one thing while they did another. They pretended things were okay, even great, but deep down in their hearts they knew that the things of the world of the ego can never truly satisfy and fulfill.

Society tricked them with status, pleasures, power, money and things, and other people envied them and called them “successful,” and yet there was something missing, something they couldn’t recognize and identify. They couldn’t grasp what that “something” is.

During the season of Lent we are reminded that there is something more than the things of the ego. We are encouraged to search beyond the world of the ego in the world of the spirit. In today’s story the rich man was sitting pretty and felt and saw no need to attend to his sick and impoverished neighbor. Why bother?  Why disturb his comfort?

But there came a time when the rich man recognized that he had a lot in common in the world of the Spirit with his poor and sick neighbor, and by ignoring him the rich man had failed to attain compassion and Love.

We are told that what he do for another we do for our Self. If we are all members of humanity, the so called “Body of Christ,” what we do for others makes the children of God whole, holy.

The rich man didn’t get his. He didn’t understand it. The rich man, apparently, had no spiritual life. Once he realized what he had missed, he asks Abraham to tell his brothers what they are missing, but Abraham tells him that sending someone from the dead won’t help them recognize the spiritual life they are missing because they already have Moses and the prophets and don’t listen to them so why would they listen to anyone else?

People only listen when they are ready and some people aren’t ready until they hit bottom. When they hit bottom it dawns on them that there must be a better way, and with this dawning they begin the search which is the true spiritual journey.

Lent reminds us to turn from the path of the ego to the path of the Spirit. The Lenten season is about giving up the things of the ego so we can engage in a search for Love of one another..

Lenten Reflections, Day Fifteen, Third Wednesday of Lent, Unite or divide?

Day Fifteen, Third Wednesday of Lent

Unite or divide; dominate or serve?

Matthew 20: 17 - 28 

17While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, “ See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified; and on the third day he will be raised.” 

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. 

And he said to her, “What do you want?” 

She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” 

But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” 

 They said to him, “We are able.” 

He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.” 

When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Jesus didn’t believe in social status or in political power in the world of the ego. Jesus must have felt disappointed that these disciples and their mother didn’t understand the world of Spirit where things of the ego don’t exist.

Even the other ten disciples are upset that the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee came to ask Jesus for special treatment for her sons. Jesus sets everyone straight and tells them that social status and political power are not things in the world of the Spirit. These things of the ego don’t exist in the world of the Spirit and if one is to attain the peace and joy of the world of the Spirit one has to give these things of the ego up.

Jesus tells his disciples that in the world of Spirit joining and uniting with others is what is required not separation and division.

During the season at Lent more than at other times of the year we are asked to give things up. Will you give up the things of ego? Will you give up social status and political power and see the inherent worth and dignity of every person and promote justice, equity and compassion in human relations?

Lenten Reflections, Day Fourteen, Second Tuesday of Lent, Becoming exalted.

Day Fourteen, Second Tuesday of Lent

Becoming exalted on the path of the Spirit.

Matthew 23: 1-12
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “ The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father— the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Jesus is clear that vanity and egotistical display doesn’t cut it. Jesus tells people not to be impressed with pomp and circumstance, social pretense and posturing, and displays of social status to dominate and coerce.

Jesus tells people to get off of the path of the ego and embark on the path of the Spirit. The Tao Te Ching teaches the same thing saying that people who strut and intimidate, and even charm and are loved, are not as good leaders as people who facilitate and nurture so that people come to be aware of their own power and abilities.

Jesus is telling people that it is love of the Divine Spirit which empowers people not the social characteristics of ego. More directly, Jesus is suggesting that people shed the ego and embrace the Spirit and if they do this they will be exalted as they become One with All.

Lenten Reflections, Second Monday of Lent, Claim your natural inheritance of unconditional love

Day Thirteen, Second Monday of Lent

To claim our natural inheritance of unconditional love we must forgive not judge.

Luke 6:36-38
36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “ Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

Judging separates and divides and forgiving unites and joins.

Jesus wants us to recognize that we are all One with the Father of Creation. We all are extensions of God’s unconditional love.

The ego would have us judge and separate to prove our innocence and expunge our guilt. It is the old game of “one or the other,” and “what about them?” Jesus tells us that these games create and maintain hell. It is in forgiveness that we enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus tells us that we are loved unconditionally and that we, in turn, should share this unconditional love with others. To regress into attacks, put downs, projection of guilt onto others is to make a hell on earth and deprive ourselves and others of the peace, and bliss which is our natural inheritance.

Lenten Reflections, Second Sunday of Lent, Experiencing the world of the Spirit.

Day Twelve, Second Sunday of Lent

Experiencing the world of Spirit.

Luke 9: 28 - 36
28Now about eight days after these sayings Jesusa took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him. They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake,  they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,  one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah”— not knowing what he said. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; a listen to him!” 36 When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Peter had an enlightenment experience. He experienced Jesus not as a body but as Spirit.

Peter liked it. Peter wanted to stay in the physical space and camp out. But as he was overwhelmed further by the spiritual experience, he at first was terrified having to give up his ego, but as Peter understood the experience as cosmic consciousness, an enlightenment experience, he was at a loss for words. Peter couldn’t describe what had happened to him. Peter wasn’t keeping secrets, he just couldn’t find the words or metaphors to communicate to others trapped in the ego world what he had experienced in the Spirit world.

Peter’s experience is very similar to Plato’s allegory of the cave where one of the prisoners who has spent his life watching the shadows on the wall, finally escapes the cave and becomes aware of a whole different world. This person returns to the cave and tries to explain to his former companions what he has witnessed and experienced, and they have no idea what he is trying to describe, and scoff at him as if they think he is mentally ill.

Peter’s experience is indescribable. The Tao Te Ching starts off with the verse, “The Tao that can be described is not the real Tao.” The teachings of Jesus that can be described are not the real teachings. Jesus is one with the Father and Jesus tried to tell people that they are one with the same Father, too. Most people think Jesus is nuts and dismiss Him and in the end support His execution.

But Peter, James, and John have this indescribable experience. And in learning of their experience, it is implied that we can have this experience too if we would leave the path of the ego and embark on the path of the Spirit.

Lenten Reflections, Day Eleven, Second Saturday of Lent, Love our enemies?

Day Eleven, Second Saturday Of Lent.

Love our enemies?

Mathew 5: 43-48
43“ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,  what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Jesus is teaching us that we are to be like God, perfect.

In order to be perfect, Jesus teaches that we have to love our enemies as well as our friends.

Unitarian Universalists covenant together to affirm and promote the inherent worth and dignity of every person and a respect for the interdependent web.

Jesus tells us that God loves God’s creation universally and unconditionally. Jesus says that God has the sun rise on the good and evil, and it rain on the righteous and unrighteous. God plays no favorites, why should we?

What makes us think we are special and entitled? Is it our ego or the Spirit within us?

Jesus tells us that all of humanity and all of God’s creation require our love and respect Universally.

Should I love my enemies and those who hurt and scare me?

Yes. We are to eschew the things of the ego and choose the things of the Spirit. That means that like God is perfect we are to be perfect to and love unconditionally.

Lenten Reflections, Day Ten, Second Friday of Lent, Look for the Divine Spark in every person.

Day Ten, Second Friday of Lent

Look for the Divine Spark in every person.

Matthew 5: 21-26

21“ You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’  But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult  a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hellf of fire.  So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

What’s up with being angry with others? What makes you make them responsible for your unhappiness? Do you want to give them that kind of power over you?

Jesus tells us that giving people the power to make us unhappy is no way to live. Our brothers and sisters are part of the interdependent web of existence along with us. We are all in this thing called “life” together. 

As part of us, if we hate them, we hate a part of ourselves. If we hate a part of ourselves we place ourselves in hell. As long as we hate those who are a part of ourselves we imprison ourselves and we can’t be released until we join with those with whom we are angry and see our common humanity which is our mutual inherent worth and dignity.

Today, look for that Divine Spark in every person, even your enemies and those with whom you disagree and even hate. Jesus tells us that the path of the kingdom is to merge with that which is holy in every person.

Lenten Reflections, Second Thursday of Lent, Seek and you will find

Day nine, Second Thursday of Lent

Search and you will find

Matthew 7. 7-8
7“ Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Hard to believe what Jesus tells us, that God will give us that for which we ask. It’s hard to believe because we misunderstand what Jesus is talking about. Jesus is not talking about things of the ego. God doesn’t know anything about the things of the ego because the things of the ego are things that we humans, in our separation from God, have just made up in our dream. The things of the ego are illusory. They are impermanent. They are no more real in the life of the Spirit than a bad dream from which we awake.

What Jesus is talking about are the things of the Spirit. If we ask God for an experience of Love, it will be given to us. If we are searching for Love we will find it. If we knock on the door of Love, the door will be opened for us.

If we want the things of the Spirit and ask for them, they will be given to us, and if we are indeed genuinely searching for Love, we will find it, and if we knock on the door of Love and ask for entrance we will be admitted. In fact, in the very seeking, asking, knocking, we have already been admitted. We can’t seek and ask for what we haven’t already guessed is available to us. We already have an inkling or we couldn’t have begun our search and knocked on the door of heaven.

As Bob Dylan sings in his great song, some of us are “knocking on heaven’s door.” Bob is singing about being on the edge of physical death, but death can also be psychological when we choose to give up the things of the ego.

Lent is about giving up the things of the ego and turning toward and searching the things of the Spirit. We can’t really search for Spirit and knock on the door of the Spirit when we are preoccupied with the things of the ego. When we become aware of the choice, we have to choose. Will we seek the things of the ego or the things of the Spirit? Lent is the season when we are intentionally asked to become aware of our choice and to make a decision. Jesus tells us that if we choose the Spirit it will be given to us, and if we search for Spirit we will find it, and if we knock on the door asking for entrance, it will be opened for us.

Lenten Reflections, Second Wednesday of Lent, The dark night of the soul.

Day eight, Second Wednesday of Lent

The dark night of the soul

Luke 11: 29-30
29When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, “This generation is an evil generation; it asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so the Son of Man will be to this generation.

In reading the Lenten Reflections it helps to be religiously literate. The reference in Luke 11:29 - 30 to the story of Jonah makes no sense to the reader unless they know the story of Jonah who was swallowed by the whale and lived in darkness until Jonah was regurgitated and given new life.

What happened to Jonah can be thought of as a metaphor of the dark night of the soul when a person gives up the world of the ego and is left in darkness. The person has given up their social conditioning and no longer is a slave to the idols of the world. The person is a caterpillar who finds themselves in a cocoon and then emerges into the new life of the butterfly. Luke tells us that this is what happened to Jesus during his 40 day fast on the mountain side from which He emerged like Jonah from the belly of the whale to begin His ministry proclaiming the world of the Spirit as compared to the world of the ego.

Not everyone has a dark night of the soul experience, but depression and anxiety and even despair are very common in our present age. Many people become disillusioned, bitter, remorseful, angry, resentful, and full of grievance. What is on the other side of this depression if not death by suicide?

The time of Lent is the dark night of the soul. It is the time of giving up of the path of the ego for the path of the Spirit. We can’t say “hello” to the future until we say “goodbye” to the past. Luke is encouraging us to follow Jesus’ example and rethink the path we want to take in our lives. Should we continue on the path of the ego or take the road less traveled, the path of the Spirit?

Lenten Reflections, First Tuesday of Lent, Forgiveness

Day Seven, First Tuesday of Lent

Forgiveness

Matthew 6: 14-15
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Forgiveness is a big deal. Many teachers of spirituality teach it is the main deal.

In Christianity, Jesus teaches that we cannot be forgiven if we do not forgive others and some might turn it around and say that one cannot forgive others until one, him/herself, feels forgiven.

One of the ideas about forgiveness from A Course In Miracles is that forgiveness is the willingness to give up making other people responsible for your unhappiness.

Forgiveness is the work of the Atonement where the illusion of separation is replaced by the miracle of awareness of Oneness. This miracle is the vehicle of healing.

In Unitarian Universalism some preachers have taught that the path to salvation is gratitude and recognizing our radical dependence on others and an experience of gratitude for how our lives our sustained by the assistance of others is key to enlightenment is a profound idea and insight. But human nature being what it is we don’t feel gratitude until we exercise the choice of forgiveness for all the people and things that have disappointed us, neglected us, abandoned us, rejected us, and abused us.

Human beings are wired to play the victim when we have been harmed or neglected by others on whom we are dependent for need fulfillment. The resulting fear, anger, resentment, grievance can, at times, seem all encompassing and overwhelming. Jesus says as He is being crucified, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” And they didn’t and we are still talking about it 2000 years later.

If Jesus can forgive his torturers and executioners and, perhaps, laugh at the absurdity of the situation, what about us and our grievances? Can you rise above them a little bit and have the presence of mind to see the torment and injustice and make the decision that the harm being perpetrated will not define you and influence your interior peace and joy?

Forgiveness, not making other people responsible for our unhappiness, is an attitude and competence difficult to develop and sustain, but it can be done and we have countless examples around us if we are looking for them.

When we find ourselves angry, resentful, upset, we are encountering a “forgiveness opportunity.” Will we seize the opportunity or play the victim?

Lenten Reflections, Day Six, First Monday of Lent, Turning back to the teachings of Jesus

Day Six First Monday of Lent

Turning back to the teachings of Jesus

Matthew 25:40-45 New International Version (NIV)
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Jesus isn’t messing around. He puts it right out there.”Whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me.” We have all these cultural Christians mostly in the Republican party in the United States who want to kick people off their health care, take away their food stamps, separate their children from them at the border, criminalize women’s health care, and cut “entitlement programs” so bigger tax cuts can go to the rich. The United States is certainly not a Christian nation, if by Christian we mean following the teachings of Jesus.

The time of Lent is a time of repentance, a time for getting back to basics, and turning away from the beliefs and practices which have led us astray from the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is telling us to give up our stingy ways and to share what we have for what we do for others we do for ourselves and for God. Nothing could be clearer, but in our politics and voting for our representatives we don’t listen and follow Jesus’ teachings.

Today, I will reach out to people struggling, oppressed, disenfranchised and share what I have with them. Today, I will take my responsibilities as a citizen in a democracy seriously and advocate for political representatives who actually follow the teachings of Jesus.

Lenten Reflections, Day Five, The first Sunday of Lent, Will you follow the example of Jesus?

Day Five, First Sunday of Lent

Following the example of Jesus or accepting the counterfeit offerings of the ego?

Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness, Matthew 4: 1-11
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’[b]”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands,  so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[c]”
7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[d]”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

The three temptations of Jesus were material things (bread), arrogance and pride, and political power over others. Jesus is a smart guy and He sees through the illusory and empty promises of the ego. Jesus knows crap when it is offered to Him. Jesus is choosing the path of the spirit instead of the path of the ego.

The ego offers Jesus the things of the ego world and Jesus has the presence of mind to side step and rise above these offerings because He chooses something more important. Jesus chooses the Love of God over the things of the ego world. Jesus gives up the illusory pleasures of the ego in favor of something much more authentic, genuine, and fulfilling.

Jesus tells the ego that the ego’s offerings are not enough for there is something far more important to HIm which He has put His faith in. The purpose of Lent is not to inflict deprivation, but to remind us that we have the power of choice to choose a way of life which is much more fulfilling and honest than the ways of the world. Lent is about reminding us of our power to choose between the illusory things society has conditioned us to choose for what it considers worldly comfort and success or things of the Spirit which are genuine and eternal.

What are you choosing this Lent? Will you follow the example of Jesus and choose the things of the Spirit or will you choose to follow the suggestions of the ego?

Lenten Reflections, Day Four, Saturday after Ash Wednesday, Giving up flaming and attack

Day Four, Saturday after Ash Wednesday

Giving up flaming and attack for dignity and respect.

Luke 5: 27 - 31
27 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” 28 So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
29 Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. 30 [d]And their scribes and the Pharisees [e]complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”
31 Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Who should I love? Should I love only the people who love me? Should I love the people I consider my enemies who not only don’t love me but I don’t feel like I love them either because we disagree and have nothing in common when it comes to the values with which we identify?

In this time of significant political polarization fueled by the reactivity and triggering of social media, it is difficult to find common ground and join rather than fan the flames of separation and further divide.

During this season of Lent, even though we are called to do this all through the year, we are reminded to set aside our differences and love our enemies. We are called upon during this season of Lent to renounce our identification with the values and beliefs of the ego which separate us and turn to the inherent worth and dignity of every person which resides beneath the illusory attributes which we  hate and disdain.

Jesus joined with the perceived enemies of Israel of the time and was seen as a traitor to the cause of the righteous and rebuked them saying that He was not going to fuel the flames of further division and polarization, but to find common cause with all people. Jesus was there to love not to hate, to join, not separate, to include not exclude.

Today, I will set my resentments and grievances aside. I will focus on what I have in common with people I dislike rather than focus on our differences. Can I maintain my dignity and those of others by looking past what upsets me to the good that is deep down within? Like Jesus can I seek to heal rather than harm? Lent is about giving up my reactivity and flaming others and practicing understanding and respect.

Lenten Reflections, Day three, Friday after Ash Wednesay, Put away your smartphone

Day three, Friday after Ash Wednesday

Put away your smartphone and just listen with undivided attention to others.

Some people miss the point of Lent. Lent is not about fasting as deprivation and giving things up like some kind of game to prove how pure and fastidious we can be. Lent is about turning away from the idols of the ego and turning toward the things of the Spirit.

Do we harbor resentments when we should be understanding and compassionate? Do we like to play the victim to obtain sympathy and manipulate others? Do we project our guilt thinking “I might have done some bad things, but thank god I’m not as bad as them.?”

We love to play the game of “what about them” and “they did it first,” and “they are just getting what they deserve” as we play tit for tat.

Lent is a time to give up the games. It is a time to fast from being mean and spiteful. Lent is a time to put away our defensiveness, our arrogance, our narcissism and open our hearts with generosity, care and concern, and a desire for the well being of the other.

It is written in Isaiah 58: 9-10

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer, you will cry for help, and he will say: ‘Here I am if you do away with the yoke of oppression, and the pointing finger and the malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness, and you night will become like the noonday.’”

The God of Isaiah calls us not to bodily deprivation but to love and justice in the way we treat others. During Lent we are asked to give up our self centeredness and think more of others. What would you give up and turn away from if you were to treat others with more kindness and love?

We give up our bodily attachments in order to be more available for loving others as we do ourselves. Could you put your smartphone away and just listen with undivided attention to the people who cross your path today?

Lenten Reflections, Day two, Thursday after Ash Wednesday, Our will or God's will for us?

Day two, Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Our will or God’s will for us?

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose of forfeit their very self? Luke 9: 24-25

We live our lives on the path of the ego dichotomizing. We are constantly forced to choose between “this or that.” “Both and” is usually out of our awareness.

God is the Oneness from which we have separated ourselves which has created our own hell. We humans think we are the author of our own existence and can call our own shots and do our own thing. We are arrogant and prideful and deeply dishonest and inauthentic and disingenuous. Lent is a time of humility. Lent is a time when we give up our illusions of control. Lent is a time when we give up our willfulness for a willingness to discern and do God’s will for us. Lent is the time when we give up our faith in dualism and put our faith in the nondualistic presence of God’s love.

In Alcoholics Anonymous and other twelve step programs we read the second step which is “came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” That is what Jesus is suggesting that we do when He says that for whoever wants to save their life will lose their separate willful ego.

The third step of Alcoholics Anonymous is “made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understand God.” This Jesus states as “what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, but lose their very soul?” We become aware of our true Self when we give our faith in our little, individual ego self.

Lent is that time when we reflect on this question of which we will choose: the path of the ego or the path of the Spirit? Will we pursue our own will or focus on discerning God’s will for us? Will we choose the separate path of the ego or the magnificent, mysterious path of the Spirit back into Oneness?