Lent (def) verb: simple past tense and past participle of lend.
Lend (def) verb
1. to grant the use of (something) on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
2. to give (money) on condition that it is returned and that interest is paid for its temporary use.
3. to give or contribute obligingly or helpfully;
4. to adapt (oneself or itself) to something;
5. to furnish or impart;
[lent. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/lent (accessed: February 8, 2018).]
I am beginning the season of lent at sea. My companion and I are on holiday touring the southern Caribbean on a cruise ship. We like cruising and we’ve been to the ports of call many times. What we can see from our limited perspective are islands recovering using tourist’s dollars and the other aid they can get. May the odds be ever in your favour. If you live in an area that is prone to nature’s cleanse, it will be your turn to lend a hand cleaning up or seeking a hand to rebuild what is lost.
The first full day and night and the second day at sea we sailed for Puerto Rico. The wind was blowing 25-35 knots from the south southeast. The ship navigates along a similar course sometimes head on and sometimes broadside the wind and wind driven sea. Normal seas are 4-6 feet. The first full day and night the seas were 8-12 feet and transitioned to 12-15 feet. I can be prone to motion sickness on the sea. My sea legs are not deep within me. That disorienting queasy feeling settled into my brain and stomach. Pressure point bracelets that once helped were adorned too late to make a significant difference. Non-drowsy motion sickness medication eased the disorientation and queasiness, but it did not completely go away. Now, calmer seas and moored at the dock of our second port of call I still have a sensation that the ship is pitching and rolling through the water as I write and reflect on the experience, though without the sick feeling.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” And the Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by the Satan; and Jesus was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.” [Mark 1:9-15]
Maybe that is what I need to experience: a queasy lent, O God. Something disorienting that is not soothed by reading the sacred stories, singing the hymns, or participating in the ancient rituals. The ancient ways and stories are meant to disorient, but have become a medication for the sensations caused by believing in Christ instead of following Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus can make, will make, you queasy more often than not. My “Jesus legs” may not as deep as I thought.
And from the rolling sea rises a response. Michael. Why is following Jesus disorienting? Is he not what being fully human looks like? Don’t you want to be fully human and touch the Imago Dei, the divine spark, in you? Is it not tempting? The kindom is near. Believe the good news.
