Joel’s words of alarm caught my attention in our readings for this evening.. Blow the trumpet; sound the alarm; something is seriously wrong.
So many people in our world today live in a state of alarm. Day and night, sirens go off in Ukraine in spite of peace talks and in Gaza in spite of the ceasefire.
Many people live in emergency situations in Sudan, in Iran in our own cities where people are afraid to leave their homes.
The pastors from Minneapolis who were here for the CCR cohort 6 immersion in January spoke of living with a heightened sense of emergency for months. Coming here, they were finally able to relax for a few days. It feels as if alarm is in the air. That sense of alarm usually evokes a defensive posture from us.
I notice, however, that Joel does not call the people together to prepare for war. He calls them together to repent – to turn their hearts back to God. This kind of thoughtful response can help us in our sense of emergency. We are also being called to come together in community to prepare our hearts in the chaos around us. We see it happening around the world. Ordinary citizens are banding together in solidarity and mutual aid.
Nineteen Buddhist monks from around the world showed us a way to prepare our hearts. They did not hold a rally or tell us what to do but instead walked silently 2,300 miles from Texas to Washington, DC – a pilgrimage of peace. Their pilgrimage touched the hearts of tens of thousands along the way. One woman said, “They left us with something – that we all have a part to play.” The leader of the walk, Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara said: “Peace is in all of us. We are not doing this to bring you any peace but to raise the awareness of peace so you can unlock that box and free it.”
He said the key to unlocking that box is mindfulness. This is a different kind of training our hearts and minds. It is a practice to cut through the noise and the fear that holds us captive to find that center where, in Christian terms, we are already one with the Divine. As a side note, I will let you know that a Buddhist group in town has invited us to walk with them around the Capital. Details will be in Weekly Wisdom when we have them. It will be an opportunity to share this practice with our Buddhist neighbors.
Significantly this year, the Muslim fast of Ramadan and our Lenten fast occur at the same time. At the beginning of the week, I wrote notes to two of the Islamic Centers in town to let them know that we are fasting in solidarity with them. This fast helps us practice ways to prepare our hearts to draw near to God. In both the Muslim and Christian traditions, this is a time of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and charity toward our neighbors. We take on these practices in order to gather together, turn our hearts around and strengthen our relationship with God who dwells within and around us and draws us to one another.
Joel reminds us God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, relenting from punishment. That could serve as a mantra this season to carry with us. God is the merciful and loving One for whom we long. We know how easily we forget and wander away. A practice of silent prayer or contemplative walking in nature can help us feel that longing that draws us back to our center, to our God.
Today, these ashes remind us that we are mortal. With our morality in mind, we take on practices to help us prepare our hearts to turn back to a loving God who also longs for us. We take on practices to turn again to our neighbors who are the embodiment of the Divine. Our practices help build life-long commitments that help us hold onto the things that sustain us, to open ourselves to the One who holds on to us.
Let us enter into whatever practices this Lent help us unlock the peace that is already inside us and draw us more deeply toward our God and neighbors. Amen