.idolatry or wonder.

Concepts create idols; only wonder understands anything. (gregory of nyssa)


Thinking about this and how it relates to Lent and intentionality and presence. When we feel the need to get caught up in the way things are or "always have been" we become believers of idolatry. When we consume more than we give and demean more than we uplift, we venerate the profane. By sticking to the hard and fast rules of law and life  and do not leave room for speculation, skepticism, or openness, we take the easy road. We don't have to be perfect. 


Jesus said, "I have come not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." (luke 5:32) Jokes on us... there are no righteous people. We are not perfect, pious, faultless people. Lent is a season of repentance, a season in which we remind ourselves that we are dust... that's all. Just dust. We make mistakes. We fail to speak up/out for the vulnerable. We miss opportunities to connect with God. 

It's a season of wonder...
+wondering why we do the things we do and asking for forgiveness.... 
+wondering how we got to where we are and who we have hurt along the way.... 
+wondering about the things we take for granted and the things we dismiss... 
+wondering about our attachments and finding ways to better articulate our actual, physical needs...

I don't know about you, but wondering sounds far more liberating than concepts. Perhaps through wondering we can all come to better understand our lives in relationship to the earth, to others, and to God. 

Commit with me to being more wonder-full/filled this Lenten season, would you?