Lenten exploration is just the beginning
Lent begins towards the end of February. We are called into a discernment of sorts during this season. To discern means to sort or sift through matters that concern us. We discern in the church when we are trying to hear what God may be calling us to do or become or to listen to how God may be calling us to act in the world.
When we determine that we will give something up for Lent or add in some activity or spiritual discipline, we are acting as a result of discernment. Somehow we came to our decision to make this seasonal change. We make this change in our lives to remind us of another journey. Every time we give up or add on, we are reminded of what Jesus himself gave up and the disciplines he so faithfully held to in his lifetime. We are also continually reminded of why we chose to give up or add on a particular discipline in our lives.
In short, during Lent, we have this golden opportunity to examine ourselves in relation to the example Jesus has set for us, particularly on his journey to the Cross. So Lent is a particular time in our liturgical year when we are called into self-examination.
Self-examination is not meant to be a self-involved exercise. Self-examination can be an exciting experience of discovery. Basically, Christian self-examination is an exploration of who we are as individuals and as a member of our faith community in its various forms. We can explore who we have been, who we are becoming, whose we are, and who God is calling us to be… that is, who we are called to be as ministers.
This self-examination is, then, a form of ministry development. Looking at it in one way, ministry development is self-examination on both a congregational and individual level. When we are involved in ministry development, we explore much more than our gifts and ministries. Our gifts and ministries occur in the context of a community: our congregations in their worship, ministries, and mission.
To get to the point where we ponder our gifts and ministries, we should first cover a lot of ground exploring who we are in community and whose we are in our lives. In order to explore those questions, we can delve into the roots of our community: the history and life of our congregation, of the Episcopal Church, of the Anglican Communion, of Christian believers. So the questions that we are ask in our exploration inevitably lead us into scripture, history, worship, and ethics.
Our journey also involves exploring who we are as a congregation in relationship with our own city, town or village. How do we relate to our community? Who are we called to be in our community? What is our mission in our community? Ministry development involves exploration of these questions and more. Though there are basic similarities to our congregational journeys of self-examination, the possibilities for our journeys are infinite, varied, and unique to the congregation, just as our own journeys are unique to our individual lives.
The lesson of Lent is that what we do during this specific season can be a gift to our lives in community. The exploration in which we engage during Lent can be just the beginning. It can be the beginning of a journey of new discoveries and possibilities for our corporate and individual lives in Christ.
