| Wednesday, February 09, 2005 Meditation Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 As we receive ashes on our foreheads today, we can imagine Jesus speaking to us “in secret,” inviting us to come with him into the desert for a time of contemplation, reflection, and preparation. Over the course of the next forty days, we have a golden opportunity to learn from Jesus how to pray, how to grow in generosity, and how to be cleansed and set free from sin. Do you know the best way to learn from the Lord in the desert? Not just by doing the things we see him do in the desert—such as fasting and spending more time in prayer—but by doing them in the same spirit that he did. Jesus went into the desert out of a deep desire to please his Father and to embrace his Father’s plan with all his heart. He went in knowing that he would survive only as he kept his eyes fixed on his Father and not himself—only as he allowed his Father’s love to fill him, sustain him, and give him strength. Doing something because it’s “right” can be tricky. If our hearts are not in a position of humility and dependence on God, it can give us nothing more than the satisfaction that we have been obedient. By contrast, when we take on Jesus’ disposition of humble surrender, we don’t become satisfied; we become holy! Then, because we had shared in Jesus’ passion and death, we find ourselves on Easter Sunday sharing in his victory! Just as an athlete becomes stronger through practice, we too will become stronger in the Spirit as we practice the activities we are called to do during Lent: self-denial through fasting; generosity through almsgiving ; and prayer through emptying our hearts of self-concern. Now is the time to ask the Spirit to turn our obedience into acts of love. So come into the desert and watch what God can do! “Lord Jesus, you have called me into the desert to be with you. Help me to fix my eyes on the Father. Purify me, Lord, and give me the strength to stay close to you for the next forty days.” |
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