This Lent has certainly become a global wilderness like most of us have never experienced before. I time of isolation, withdrawal, confinement; in the midst of a pandemic. Frightening thoughts for most of as well.
I have been trying to think of this time in the context of our Lenten journey, our solitude in the wilderness drawing us closer to the life of God through reflection and a refinement of habits and attitudes in the world.
How might all we’re going through right now socially be part of a wilderness journey drawing us closer to how we can live as God’s disciples?
Along with reflection on our social norms and policies, my hope for myself, and any who are reading this, is that one benefit of this wilderness might be to deepen our personal prayer life as part of the habits and routines in our households.
Here are the Morning Prayer Readings for today:
I hope in them you find encouragement as well as a place to struggle with the Spirit in prayer. A challenge of Spirit to lead us to the other side of this wilderness.
The Corinthians addresses the particular questions of the community at that time. Both practical and spiritual in nature. Questions around the Eucharist as well which is appropriate for our present time, when we are not breaking bread together and doing so for the advantage and health of one another. We should know though, now in this moment, as each of us receives our daily bread, the grace we need to meet the gift and challenge of this day,
“there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”
1 Cor 10:17
What a blessing to receive that bread, that life of Christ that unites all people in Christ, not only in sacrament and prayer on a Sunday but in grace by the Spirit in prayer on a Monday. In the midst of isolation, we remain one body as each of us take hope in Christ, the one bread, who gives to us his life.