Are You in Debt So as to Embarass Yourself?
March Newsletter – Special Preview
At the ordination of United Methodist ministers the question is asked, “Are you in debt so as to embarrass yourself?” this is generally responded to with smirks and giggles because so many of us carry significant debt from seminary. In the midst of preparing for my own Lenten discipline this question came to mind. My immediate response nineteen years removed from ordination was, “Perhaps I am in debt so as to embarrass myself.” The debt causing me to blush is far more profound than something that occurs due to a fiscal imbalance where I owe more than I have or could hope to repay in my lifetime. The debt I speak of is a spiritual debt that should leave our very soul embarrassed. We have all been given so much and returned so little. We have been blessed with opportunity, resources and time yet we complain because there is not enough, opportunity, resources and time. During these forty days of Lent we are given the opportunity to turn our lives in a new direction away from embarrassment towards fulfillment.
During Lent we are reminded that if something is “lent” than it is borrowed and needs to be paid back. Thus whatever our Lenten discipline is it needs focus on allowing for more of ourselves to be offered in return for the great blessing we have received. The word Lent as we use it today comes from an Old English word meaning to lengthen. As we approach Easter we cannot help but notice the lengthening of the daylight hours. This also can remind us as we approach the celebration of Easter to bring more light than darkness into the world by our thoughts, words, and deeds.
I hope that each of will ask ourselves this question as part of our Lenten journey, “Are we in debt so as to embarrass ourselves?”
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