An Invitation to a Lenten Journey

Ash Wednesday will be noted and celebrated on February 6th, 2008. As Ash Wednesday begins our journey of Lent, those 40 days before Easter, you are invited to use this time to look for the ways that God is moving through your life and continues to be made known to you in surprising ways.
 

Our congregation will gather on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 6th, at 6:00 p.m. around a simple provided meal of soup and bread to be followed by a service at 7:00 p.m. of singing, prayers, and the offering of ashes. Let us begin this season of Lent together as I offer this invitation to:

Come into this circle of caring,
Come into the community of gentleness, of justice and love.
Come, and you shall be refreshed.
Let the healing power of Christ move through you.
Let the loving kindness of joy pass through you.
Let hope infuse you.
Caring is a calling.
All of us are called.
So come, during this Season of Lent, to this circle of caring.
 

Blessings,
Rev. Brolin

Rev. Yohang Chun Email: ychun@nycap.rr.com

I would like to share a story which I found very insightful. There was a man experiencing
deep frustration with his work. Each day, his sense of meaninglessness increased, and he could barely force himself to go to work in the morning. When he could stand it no longer, he went to a doctor. The doctor listened to his complaints and then asked him where he was happiest as a child. The man responded that he had been happiest at the beach.

The doctor wrote four directives or prescriptions on four slips of paper. The man was instructed to go to a beach the next day. He must arrive before nine. He is to talk to no one, bring no reading material, and follow the directions on the slips of paper at nine, twelve, three, and six o'clock.

The man arrived at the beach well before nine oclock but was extremely cynical. He was frustrated by the fact that there was no task to complete, no problem he could throw himself into solving. The time passed slowly.

At nine o'clock, he took out the first slip and read, Listen carefully. The man concluded that the doctor must be mad. There was nothing to hear. He began walking and noticed that there was a variety of sounds emanating from the surf, sand, and other natural sources. He was attracted by these sounds and soon found himself deep in contemplation. He was thinking about other things:things bigger than himself. He was comforted by this, but still felt he should be engaged in a more productive task.

Noon arrived and he read the next slip: Try reading back. Back to what? He wondered. As he continued along the beach, he found himself resurrecting memories of his past relationships. He remembered a fishing expedition with his deceased brother. He relived other family experiences, again feeling love the members of his family had for one another. He was impressed with the happiness he was able to find in his past. Even now, he is warmed by those past experiences.

By three o'clock, he was feeling somewhat relaxed and began to admire the wisdom of the old doctor. He was, however, shocked by the third slip, which read, Reexamine your motives. He became very defensive and rationalized his pursuit of money, recognition, and success. After a while, though, a quiet voice inside him suggested that perhaps these motives were not good enough. He began to recognize that an important aspect of alignment had been lost. In the past, his work had always been free and flowing when he felt like he was contributing something, making a sacrifice, rendering a service. As his work situation changed, however, he lost some of those feelings, and now felt entangled in the tentacles of the slow death process.

At six o'clock, the opened the last slip. It read, Write your worries in the sand. At this point, he saw the logic in the four thought-provoking statements. Getting outside himself, thinking about the happiness of the past, reflecting on the deep structure of the present, and eventually penetrating his own defenses allowed him to re-examine and re-align his own motives. Once he made those internal adjustments, his external problems were less of an issue. If his motives, conscience, and capabilities were aligned, he would perform to his best ability, no matter what the external problem. In an important way, this man changed the world by changing himself.

From my personal experiences, when I faced some difficult situations, I have tried to find the answers from outside of me, not inside of me. So this story gave me good wisdom.