In Matthew 7:24 Jesus admonishes us to: “be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock.” How do we determine when we have reached the prime reality or the bedrock of existence upon which we can start to build our lives? In the current marketplace of ideas there are a few takes on what constitutes the prime reality of existence. For some the base reality is the face of the angry or indifferent God. Some 20th century philosophers tried selling us on the idea that absurdity or meaninglessness fits the bill and for others reality is just ongoing suffering. The latest version of the suffering sales pitch is that we are all perpetual participants in the victim Olympics. It’s a pretty depressing set of alternatives.
For a Christian what is the Prime reality? Hebrews 12:2 says of Jesus: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.” If we are to follow Christ, our prime reality then is Joy. And, like Christ we will have to persevere through the passion of indifference, meaninglessness, and suffering in order to reach that place of joy. If joy is like a treasure hidden in a field, it can be a muddy and exhausting job to dig down through the overburden of our lives in order to finally have it in our possession. Acquiring joy is real work.
This brings us to Lent. It is interesting that Lent doesn’t start with some upbeat thought like, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life!” but starts with: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return!”. Lent’s voluntary deprivations and fasting gives us a taste of ongoing suffering. While meditating on the Passion of Christ leads us through the land, of what appears to be the indifferent God, (Why have you forsaken me?), along with the meaninglessness of innocent suffering and the victimization of being betrayed by your closest friends. Lent is no walk in the park. It is a set of trials to be endured, a bit of a spiritual hazing ritual. All this though, leads to Easter morning with the Joy of the Resurrection which gives us access to the Beatific vision of the face of the loving God.
To learn to ride a bicycle you must actually ride a bicycle, just reading about riding will not do. To learn to navigate through a fallen world you must navigate through a fallen world. Lent gives us an opportunity to practice our navigation skills, under the tutelage of Christ himself.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament… You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” John 16:20
Photo credit: Dave Beynon / The narrow path through Ebbor Gorge
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