THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT – Year C
March 7, 2010
Ss. Peter & Paul
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Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening
into the house and gate of heaven;
to enter into that gate and dwell in that house,
where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling,
but one equal light;
no noise nor silence, but one equal music;
no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession;
no ends, nor beginnings, but one equal eternity;
in the habitation of thy glory and dominion,
world without end.
[John Donne]
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It is easier to stay out than to get out—that is, when it comes to ruts. But given human nature—and our proclivity to exchange one for another—the wiser option of staying out of ruts is not so easy. Maybe the only choice we truly have, given the fallen state of things, is which rut we will end up in.
Lent calls us to examine our rutted patterns—the unproductive modes of being in the world that keep us from becoming who God calls us to be. An image that illustrates beautifully the nature of our ruttedness comes from the following study done on processionary caterpillars.
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It seems that a team of researchers lined up a group of caterpillars around a pot containing a plant which the caterpillars loved to eat. From the lead caterpillar to the last one, they all were lined up in a row—head to head. The lead caterpillar started to move, and then the rest followed. Around and around the rim of the pot they went—for a full week.
Hungry, tired, with their very lives at risk, the caterpillars kept on going. They prōcéssed and prōcéssed. Not once did they glance over at the plant that could have fed them. Not one of them broke ranks with the others to get off the “merry-go-round” and find relief. Eventually, locked in their pattern of prōcéssing, they marched around the rim until they all died.
One way to approach the purpose of Lent is to understand it as the Church’s way of getting the faithful “un-rutted.” The call to self-examination, the call to reflection and renewal, the insistence on “giving something up and taking something on” presume the need to change. To become unstuck. To break free. To become, by the grace of God, a free and fruitful child of the Most High.
Ruts have always been around and each of us has his or her favorites. But the ones most commonly mentioned today have their origin in self-concern. Negative body-image. Low self-esteem. Procrastination. Perfectionism. Co-dependence. Under-employment. Over-commitment. Too much sugar. Too little sex. Not enough sleep. Credit card balance too high. Not enough free time. A job that isn’t satisfying. An addiction hard to break. A marriage that isn’t happy. A relationship going nowhere. A lack of friends.
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The Church, on the other hand—while not discounting these modern ruts—has maintained that the wider and deeper ruts that keep humanity stuck have their genesis in something more theological than cultural: namely, “the world, the flesh, and devil,” and/or “the seven deadly sins.” Compared with these “theological Pharaohs of human bondage,” the “ruts” of today are mere flea bites. And the Church has said that our relationship to these perennial, more cosmic ruts needs to be addressed first. Otherwise, Lenten change will mean little more than moving “from rut to rut” in a life of perfect stuckness and perfect insignificance.
So, how do we get out of being stuck in “the world, the flesh, and the devil”?
How do we stay free of the seven deadly ruts—Pride, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Anger, and Sloth?
How do we escape excessive self-concern that leads to contempt for others?
How do we let go of immoderate desire for possessions in general, and the possessions of others in particular?
How do we get away from inordinate and misdirected sexual desire?
How do we break free from excessive desire for food and drink, and making a god of the belly?
How do we let go of the consuming desire for others to be as unsuccessful as we are?
How do we free ourselves of the kind of pathological anger that destroys both the giver and the recipient?
Lastly, how do we break free of torpor, or spiritual apathy?
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After considering these major league ruts, most of us would just as soon stick with lowering fat grams or giving up dessert for Lent. But if we want to be more than a barren fig tree, if we want to break free of the “Egypt” of sin and prōgréss toward the “Promised Land” that the Gospel confers, we need to do two things.
In India, Joseph Campbell found that two rather amusing images were used to portray spiritual growth. One was “the way of the kitten,” and the other was the “way of the monkey.” When a kitten cries “meow” its mother comes and takes it by the scruff of the neck and carries it away to safety. On the other hand, when a band of monkeys comes scampering out of a tree and hits the ground running, the babies riding on their mothers’ backs hang on for dear life. They do it by themselves.
Accordingly, Campbell said that the two ways parallel the essence of spiritual growth. Each needs to be balanced with the other. The “way of the kitten” represents the person who prays for the Lord’s help—for “outside” help, such as strength, guidance, and an open and a loving will. In this “power from outside,” the belief “I can’t, but God can” is essential. Surrender forms the essence of this prayer for Divine deliverance in the face of human powerlessness—whether it describes the Hebrews in Egypt or someone struggling with an addiction in America.
The “way of the monkey,” on the other hand, concerns claiming one’s own “power from within.” It is the belief that God gave us a mind and a will; that, in many respects, we are not helpless to help ourselves. Like the monkeys, we can “hold on” without outside assistance. We can do whatever God puts within our power to do.
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The majestic prayer attributed to Reinhold Niebuhr summarizes both the “way of the kitten” and the “way of the monkey.” As we seek to get out of the spiritual or physical ruts that bedevil us, both ways need to be employed.
In its full form, this “serenity prayer” goes as follows:
God, grant me the serenity1
to accept the things
I cannot change,
the courage to change
the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time,
accepting hardship as the way to peace.
Taking as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next.
Amen.
(by Phil Ayers+)
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