Read: Genesis 12:1-4a; John 3:1-17
Our dog Luna has FOMO. You know, the “Fear Of Missing Out”. Whatever we’re doing, she wants to be in the middle of it. When we go for walks, she wants to be last so she can keep an eye on all that’s going on and quickly run up to check out anything that looks interesting.
I find it tempting not to do anything special or different for Lent. Jesus has come. I’m forgiven. My spiritual life is ok. What’s the point?
At the same time, I don’t want to miss out either. What if God is just waiting to do an incredible work in my heart? What if he wants to strip me down with a Lenten “spring cleaning” and then fill my heart and life with a deeper connection to his Spirit and the ability to discern his voice in my newly renovated heart and soul? I don’t want to miss that!
John 2 ends with John telling us about many who believed in Jesus during the Passover Feast. But lest we get excited, he quickly lets us know that Jesus did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man (John 2:23-25). As chapter 3 begins, Nicodemus stops by to talk to Jesus. Nicodemus’ somewhat earthly questions provide Jesus an opportunity to teach him about heavenly things.
It’s a familiar story. Jesus tells Nicodemus that no one can see God’s kingdom unless he is born again. Nicodemus thinks he’s talking about a second natural birth. Jesus is talking about a spiritual rebirth.
Nicodemus isn’t sure he quite believes it. He wants to admit Jesus is a great teacher, but this whole “born again” thing seems too crazy. Doesn’t it? Jesus sort of teases him and says, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” Then he goes on to explain, 14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” He points to his death, his being “lifted up”, as the thing people must believe to have eternal life.
John sums it all up with verses 16 and 17: 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. This is what Jesus is talking about. This is being born again. It’s believing in the one who came down from heaven and instead of dying, gains eternal life.
But, for a man like Nicodemus and for many of us, that seems too easy. We have to do something, right?. God can’t just give us eternity. We have to earn it. For Nicodemus, a Pharisee, he followed strict regimen to keep the law and avoid any of the no-no’s Jewish tradition forbade. For us, we struggle with issues of pride, of ego-drivenness. We can focus too much on work and human effort.
Lent isn’t about doing something to gain standing with God. It’s about denying ourselves good things that have taken too much control of us so we can receive the much better gifts God wants to give. Ruth Haley Barton suggests some ways we can do this:
- If we struggle with pride, we might abstain from activities that feed the ego and practice “hiddenness” – praying, giving, and serving in ways that don’t draw attention to us.
- If we struggle with our speech, we might take more time in silence and listen more to others.
- If we struggle with being tired because we’re doing too much, we might practice saying, “No,” to some activities to be more rested and take more time in God’s presence.
- If we struggle to use caffeine or some other stimulant to give us a boost or food or alcohol to numb our worry, we might give up caffeine, or alcohol, or a certain food and ask God to reveal the source of our tiredness or our anxiety.
- If we struggle with addictions to our technology, we might consider disconnecting from cell phones, computers, and tablets for certain portions of the week.
Whatever we choose, by denying ourselves things that are not bad in and of themselves, these disciplines open us for the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives. When we cooperate with God to clear the clutter of compulsive behaviors from our hearts and remove the distractions from our lives, we grow more in tune with the presence of the Holy Spirit around us and experience the deep soul satisfaction that comes with it.
FOMO is not a great motivation for disciplines of fasting or abstinence. A deep desire to connect with God and not to miss the transformation he wants to do in my soul is. Join me in praying, “Father, lead me in the letting go of anything that distracts, numbs, keeps me from you. Guide me into uncluttered rooms and wide-open spaces where I can meet you. Amen.”
For reflection:
- What activities, behaviors, and relationships are most distracting to my spiritual life these days?
- Which ones keep me from seeking God with all my heart?
- During this Lenten season, what do I need to fast from in order to focus more fully on eternal things?
Readings this week:
March 6: Numbers 21:4-9; Hebrews 3:1-6
March 7: Isaiah 65:17-25; Romans 4:6-13
March 8: Ezekiel 36:22-32; John 7:53-8:11
March 9: Exodus 16:1-8; Colossians 1:15-23
March 10: Exodus 16:9-21; Ephesians 2:11-22
March 11: Exodus 16:27-35; John 4:1-6
March 12: Exodus 17:1-7; John 4:5-42