Fourth Sunday in Lent (6)
As I sit to write this reflection, I think about the
readings for today in our Lenten journey. I also think it is important to
acknowledge that today is the Feast of St. Cuthbert, patron Saint of
Northumbria. In the readings associated with the feast of St. Cuthbert, we find
the following passage.
“Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts. Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before him and will make a path for his steps. Psalm 85: 8-13
Saint Cuthbert lived in the seventh century in the area that is now northern England and southern Scotland. He lived in a time very remote from ours, a time so long ago that I doubt we can even imagine its culture. That said, his time was rife with political and religious polarities—not so very different from our own time. Struggles were raging over who was right and who was wrong – sound familiar??
It is said that Cuthbert was something of an introvert; he was a person whose spirit was quickened by silence and solitude. Reading about St. Cuthbert’s life teaches me to tend to both the ebb and the flow of action, prayer and life itself. Our culture here is so over-heated, so noisy, so busy, that we often make decisions impulsively and without reflection. We often drive ourselves to exhaustion and forget why in the world we might be doing what we are doing.
Cuthbert’s life also teaches us the human need to allow for rest, replenishing quiet, communion with the natural world and the time to simply catch up to ourselves. In fact, his life offers us an example of the real fruitfulness of life that is possible when rest is allowed, when quiet restores the soul, when stillness gives us the space in which to breathe. We step away from the harried, hassled, incessant patterns of too much of everything. We allow ourselves time to be in the garden, to write in our journal, to listen to God.
In the midst of difficulties, the psalmist in our passage from Psalm 85 proclaims that God will grant us shalom, giving us the strength to live in the present and promising us a glorious future. Shalom is a Hebrew word meaning peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. It means more than the absence of war and conflict but includes wholeness and health.
So, for us as Christians, the memory of God’s goodness is
rooted in Christ’s work on the cross, where steadfast love and faithfulness
have met. Remembering God’s love in the present and God’s faithfulness in the
past becomes a promise that can be experienced as shalom of God’s people
throughout the ages.
But God has promised to be with us every step of the way ‘to
the end of time’. Perhaps, like St Cuthbert we can spend some time this Lent in
quiet contemplation, getting closer to our friend Jesus, and learning to trust
Him.
The music I choose to share with today’s reflection is “Empty Broken Here I Stand”. This music comes from the Northumbrian community and was introduced to me as well as all of the Confessions Worship Band by the Rev. Chris Roth. Thank you Chris!
- Karen Hudson