WADING IN THE WATERS AGAIN AND AGAIN

The Eastern Catholic tradition describes Lent as bright sadness. The sadness comes from sin. Prayer, fasting, almsgiving, as well as works of justice, of mercy, and of compassion are the Lenten disciplines or strategies that prepare Christians for a bright future. The brightness is felt in the radiant light and the festive joy of Easter's fifty days. The Western Catholic tradition describes Lent as a joyous season. The joy comes from doing the Lenten disciplines. God uses these strategies to strengthen and illumine, purify and prepare Christian communities. When Lent ends on Holy Thursday afternoon, we hope that Lent has done its job, namely that it has prepared us to wade in the waters as we begin the three day event of the Lord's glorious passover. (We call this the Paschal or Easter Triduum. It is made up of Holy Thursday evening, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil night and Easter day).

Lent is practical. People learn about Lent by watching what Christians do during these forty days. The Lenten practices concretely indicate what the church actually is and is about. Gordon W. Lathrop, the Lutheran theologian, puts it so well in his recent book, Holy People. He writes: "Practices...are simply our naked bodies presented for the clothing, our eyes open for the salve, our hands out for the supper. Practices respond to and use the things that are in our midst as gifts. They are things Christian people do together over time to respond to and in the light of God's active presence for the life of the world. Thus, one of the major things Christian people do together over time is the assembly for worship. Doing the assembly, maintaining the assembly, gathering with the assembly, keeping the assembly in communion with other assemblies require practices (p.75)."

We learn to be church by doing, maintaining, and gathering the assembly. We practice being an assembly by keeping up the practice. We do attentive listening to the paradigmatic stories that tutor our hearts. We do public intercessions that heal our world. We do water baths that re-create our cosmos and its creatures. We do the breaking of the bread that satisfies our deep hungers. We do the drinking from the cup that reconciles our relationships.

In addition, we leave the inspiration of worship and the pleasant warmth of belonging to a familiar assembly in order to be gathered again in our domestic households. We continue to do at home the practices that mark authentic disciples. We engage in affirmation. Our words and deeds build up the body of Christ. We practice mutual forgiveness - not once, not twice, but seventy-times-seven-times.

Practices touch public persons and public squares. We practice justice in business and in trade. We practice partnership in work and in volunteer service. We practice hospitality and kindness in the market and mercy and compassion in the agora every day. Practices mentor churches. What we practice mentors our heads and hearts into a correct way of feeling. What we do mentors our feet into a correct way of walking. What we practice mentors our hands into a correct way of serving. What we do mentors our arms into a correct way of embracing for the sake of one another and of the world.