As we embark on another Great Lent, the call to return to God and be one with God is loud and clear. God’s love towards human beings reflected in the incarnation of God’s son Jesus Christ is then commemorated with seven weeks of the life, ministry, healing, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. As much as we see the Great Lent as something we have to do, it is also a response to God’s call to reconcile with God. This reconciliation is also then supposed to be with other human beings and all of creation as Jesus has asked us to love one another as he has loved us and as he loves his Father.
But how can we hear, see
and experience God? This calls for a retreat and a walking back. People earlier
have tried to walk backwards for a novelty, to break a record or for a cause.
But this is not something done usually. Now research suggests that walking
backwards as an exercise is good because it makes our knees and ankles strong,
makes us sharper and heals our body in some significant ways.
I would like to suggest
walking backwards and retreating as a way to enter into the experience of lent
because it helps us see God, see one another and see ourself as well. The
retreating and walking back creates a space to think, to look, to realize and
to change. It is an opportunity to realize that we have erred somewhere, that we
need to change, that we can do something differently and we can simply give
space to someone.
The wedding at Cana in St.
John 2: 1-11 is a very common bible passage, known even to non-Christians. St.
Mary informs Jesus that the wine has run out. But Jesus is not very interested
and says his time has not come. What St. Mary does now is a lesson in
retreating and walking backwards. She steps back and tells the servers to do
whatever he tells them. The element of faith of St. Mary is the faith in God’s
son, the faith in Jesus her son and her faith in goodness. Yet, she realizes
that she has done something wrong or inappropriate. So she steps back and yet
does not lose her hope.
The stepping back or the
walking backwards helps. Jesus tells the servers to fill the stone jars with
water which then is transformed into wine. It is a wonderful model for the
start of lent and for our life in general. Have faith in God and in one
another. How much ever we love someone, be prepared to retreat and walk back.
Be ready to give space and prevent them from being suffocated by our love.
Husbands do likewise to your wife, wives to your husband, parents to their
children and children to their parents, friends to one another and colleagues
likewise. Nothing is to be taken for granted and yet hope has to remain.
Everyone needs their space to act, to perform and to do.
Lent is a time to allow
God to perform miracles. But the credit of the miracle is for God and we need to
create that space. Priests have to create a space for the people to see God and
witness to God. The closeness to God should turn to a retreat and walking backwards
because otherwise others won’t get to see God. St. Mary’s walking back turns a
private miracle into a public proclamation of faith. Do what we have to do and
then stand back for God to work. Amen.
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