Passion to Pentecost: A 100-Day Devotional: Enkindle Sparks Through the Stubble of Your Soul

PART 1

The First Mile

Walking with Jesus

Day 1: Authentic Spirituality

Sunday before Ash Wednesday

The journey of faith in Christ is multifaceted. As a young child I went to church every Sunday, never missed Catechism or daily family prayer. Over and above this, there were additional times set aside by my father to spend in Bible reading, mostly aloud. However, even as I became a young adult I did not actually believe. My devotion to those rituals was not a true reflection of my heart. In fact, if you asked me then, I would probably say that I believed in God, but about Christ and Christianity I wasn’t sure at all. Thus, it would be right to conclude that outward actions are never enough to determine the inner heart condition. This was the reason Jesus hated the Pharisees despite their very religious, law-abiding selves. Clearly, God is looking for more than just the following of the Ten Commandments. In current Catholic terms that would be a person going for regular masses, confessions, in ministry leadership and knowledgeable of the Word of God. Following the law to the letter was not the ‘holiness’ God was looking for. He was and continues to look at the heart. As the Word says, the heart is deceitful above all things. That falling away from His love occurs first in the stony silences of our hearts. Where one hardened layer covers another, unbeknownst to all but it’s Maker. For it to start expressing itself in recognizable actions would probably take a long time, to it never taking place. Imagine the crowds surprise when Jesus started speaking out against the ‘holy and devout’ Jews. They must have been shocked that Jesus, this young man, would have the gall. Then to see the ‘most reverend’ Pharisees respond with defensive hatred. If our hearts are not found to be vessels of love, perhaps this is how Jesus would be talking to you and me. Oh, how terrible would that be? But then how much more terrible is it to profess Him who is Love and not be willing to carry Him within?

Becoming busy in outward ministry can often take us away from the most important purpose, our inward relationship with Christ; what we started with when we first encountered the living God. Our hearts bowed low in reverent awe and gratitude which then flowed over into our actions. We can easily go through the motions of what spirituality resembles on the outside and have a heart that is away from it’s Maker. Take care that your faith is flowing from the inside out instead of the other way around.

Reflection: Decide to be authentic in your spirituality. If you are wondering what your authentic self is, then it is who you are when no one is watching. Stop and reflect often on the inner workings and convictions of your faith. Search for the answers to your niggling doubts, ask God’s infilling of those empty parts. Choose to act in line with your heart. Resist the temptation to appear ‘holy’ to win the approval of your Christian community.

Prayer: Lord God, I know you look at my heart, not my words and actions. You know me through and through. I am sorry for the times I value people’s opinions over yours. Give me the grace to seek Your approval alone. Help me also to be honest to myself and others about how I am traveling in this journey of faith.

Day 2: Enjoying the now

Monday before Ash Wednesday

In my attempts to get fit, I am usually trying to find ways to fit in exercise into my daily regime. My workplace is situated in a beautiful part of town and one day I went on a walk on my lunch break and started up this walking trail. I greeted a man who was walking his dog and he asked me if I was going to the top of the hill. I responded, ‘Ah is that a thing?’. Thus, armed with this information I went straight ahead in the direction he had pointed rather excitedly. While I could see no shape of a hill I trudged up and between pants and sighs took a fair bit of time looking forward to the view that would present. Sure, enough I was on the top of a hill and could see the hills and valleys all around from this vantage point. I was thrilled beyond words. After spending a few moments soaking in the beauty I hurried back being mindful that I was going to surely exceed my stipulated 30 mins of allocated break time. As I hurtled down and turned a bend, I saw the most glorious view ahead of me- the sun setting on a gorgeous batch of hills. When I had been walking up the hills longing for the view on the top, I failed to stop and enjoy the view. A mistake, we humans always make- we are so focused on a goal that seems the ultimate, that we fail to enjoy the journey.

The truth is that what matters at any given moment is that very given moment. The more of those moments we don’t engage in the more we find life slipping away. Many of our goals are long term but if we spent all our energy only looking to the future, what a tragedy that would be! Much like the man who hoarded and filled his barns only to lose it all. Save money but also spend some now. Work towards that degree but enjoy the studying now. Nurture and protect your children but also be fascinated seeing them grow now. Yearn for a better marriage but love your spouse now. Long for spiritual deepening but savor what you have now.

Reflection: What are my goals and aspirations in life? Career goals, financial goals, spiritual goals, family goals. Which of these goals have me trudging up hills with a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the lilies on the wayside and the beauty left behind?

Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to be aware, thankful and grateful for all that I have in my life today. Even as I wait on seeing some goals being met let me treasure the present as the greatest gift. I am aware Lord how fragile my own life is and so dependent on your grace. May I never settle for the never satisfying stolen glances at a better future. It is well right now. I declare this in your mighty name my Lord, Amen.

Day 3: The Master Mister

Tuesday before Ash Wednesday

Who is Jesus? How does one meet, know and befriend Him? After an encounter with the Lord, Jesus did become the One my soul loved. However, the understanding of Who He is, has taken a great while forming. In my initial years as a Christian, I diligently sought His presence and was aware He was with me. Slowly I recognized that since Jesus was the Word of God, the Word as a whole was Christ Himself. Thus, spending time with the Word was spending time with Christ listening intently as He speaks. I have studied through the Bible a few times and am very aware that this has a huge part to play in the intimacy I have with the Lord. The more you listen the more you get to know Him.

Then came the Eucharist, the body and blood of our Savior. He became something we could eat and digest and draw life from. What a blessing and joy for us mortals who often need something tangible to hold on to in our spirituality. Jesus alive within us, nourishing our own living body and blood with the body and blood that He sacrificed.

Finally, the fourth form of Christ is His Body, the Church. In my initial years I was all about the Presence of God and the Word of God and downplayed the importance of the Eucharist and the Church. However, over time I realized that relating and mingling and fellowshipping and growing closer to the faithful is growing closer to Christ. Christ said that whatsoever we did to the least of his brothers we did that to Him. There can be no love of Christ without being deeply entwined with His Body. I have been acutely aware of times in my life where God took me away from active ministry to prepare and teach me for a time ahead just like John the Baptist was prepared in the wilderness. Eventually we are all called to minister to others with our gifts and fruits from the Spirit.

The Presence of God fills us with joy, the Word of God transforms our thoughts and beliefs, leading us into truth, the Eucharist nourishes our body and soul, and the Body of Christ forms our life in Christ.

Reflection: Am I drawing closer to Christ through these four forms that Christ takes on, how can I deepen my relationship with and knowledge of my Savior? Am I disregarding the importance of His presence, the Word, the Eucharist or His Body? How can I change that?

Prayer: Dear loving Lord Jesus, you have made yourself accessible in so many forms. I want to grow deeper in the knowledge of You and love of You. Expand my understanding and lead me into a deeper experience of Your presence, Your Word, Your Flesh and Blood and Your Body. I surrender my being to You. I love You Lord. Thank You for leaving no stone unturned. Amen.

Day 4: My blemishes

Ash Wednesday

Holiness is a much spoken about topic in Christianity. God died for us while we were sinners and the precious blood of the lamb wiped away our sin. Strangely enough we then proceed to accomplish holiness by the force of our will. We need to do A-Z to be ‘holy’ and we feel we can please God by our holy acts. However, the Word clearly reminds us that our righteousness is like filthy rags. Think of that dirty rag lying around in your house; the holiest human being on this planet that you can think of resembles that dirty rag. So quit trying to be holy. Jesus’ blood has taken away your stain of sin. You have been made holy. Holiness is your identity. You only have to be who you really are. Sure enough, your flesh may be caught up with ‘old’ fleshly ways of being but as you spend time with your Father in heaven and His Word, Christ, your mind is renewed and the old passes away and everything becomes new. However, at no point does God’s pleasure in you depend on your acts of holiness. If anything does please God, it is faith.

Yes, holiness matters to God and that is why He sent His only Son to be tortured to death so you and God could have a deep abiding personal relationship with Him. So, He dealt with it perfectly- once and for all. He left no loopholes. He really meant it when He said, ‘it is finished’. Soon I will be attending a ceremony to become a citizen of Australia. Citizens can vote, receive an Australian passport etc. Once completed, imagine how silly it would be for me to say, ‘Nope I can’t vote because I am not a citizen?’ That would be me stuck in the old way of things. However, I would still have a record of having been an Indian citizen once. However, with God there is NO record. Your identity has not only changed but your past identity as a sinner has been absolutely wiped clean.

Reflection: In what areas of my life am I attempting to push myself into tasks or behaviour changes that I seem to be unable to accomplish despite repeated trials. Are there sins I keep committing. I need an identity change, not a behavior change.

Prayer: Dear Lord, you know how I struggle to _________. Please help me to stop pushing myself and to become aware that I am your child. Help me to become aware of my new identity in Christ that is blest, holy, free and sound. Holy Spirit of God, when I start going into modes of self-motivated trials remind me again of the free-flowing grace available in you. Through Christ my Lord, Amen.

Day 5: Loving

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Love is simply not spoken about enough. I haven’t seen a panel discussion on it and very rarely do I find it being preached. Yet God is love and He said that those who live in love, live in Him. Why are we not spending time to becoming purposeful about our loving considering it is the greatest commandment God gave us. We would rather do large crusades and offer sacrifices and night long prayers than obey God’s primary commandment to us. I guess the reason we sweep aside discussions on love is because our need for love exposes our vulnerability as human beings as well as our failings. Any appearance of weakness can hurt our pride. Also, centuries of not talking about it have also possibly stunted our ability to do so. Sadly, the only context that love gets spoken of is romantic love. However, a mother’s love for their child, love between siblings and friends is also powerful. There is also the kind of love that is radical- love for your enemies and love for strangers. We usually associate love with something that is shared between two people who are close to each other, but love is much beyond that. It is a value we live by, a state of being. It can define a person. God is love. Love is the source of all goodness whether it be truth, justice, mercy and honesty. All virtues are connected to love. Think of the good Samaritans care of that wounded traveler. He was neither close to the Samaritan nor even known. There were clearly no conditions or limits to his love. Love isn’t just about what you do but also what you don’t. Undoubtedly after our relationship with God the most important purpose of our lives is relationships. Jesus did not come down on Earth to demonstrate His wisdom, power, or knowledge. He first and foremost demonstrated Love.

Because of our brokenness arising out of our own life experiences we often demonstrate our love in ways that are rather unloving. To grow into God’s kind of love we need to be ready to change what comes so very naturally to our flesh. Remember the fruits of the Spirit? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness and self-control. These are all characteristics of true love. As St Paul pointed out, all the world’s powerful ministry is meaningless and pointless without love.

Reflection: Am I purposeful about loving? Do my spouse, children, parents, siblings, and friends know me as a loving person? As love itself. Do I treat my friends better than I treat my own family? What can I change in my behavior, beliefs and words to be more loving? How can I prevent letting my feelings decide whether I will be loving or unloving?

Prayer: Blessed Lord, You called yourself Love and you made us in your own image. We bring before you our desire to love our neighbours, knowing we cannot do this without your help. Lord, we keep getting carried away by our flesh but we ask you for the grace to be purposeful about loving your creation unconditionally.

Day 6: Listen to the voice

Friday after Ash Wednesday

My father passed away recently, quite appropriately on the Sabbath, the day of rest, a Sunday. The next day I had a day off from work, so I wanted to go for Mass and lay my own loss to rest. I went for midday mass in the cathedral and thought I would spend some time after mass just alone with Him. During mass I could not help but notice this beautiful old lady dressed in white. Her straight white hair was rolled into a French knot and her coat-skirt combination was pure white like her shoes. She looked like an angel descended on Earth. After mass had been offered, the faithful slowly left the weekday mass for their next task. I love being alone in the cathedral, so I excitedly looked forward to my time with my Lord. As I sat, talking and worshipping, I found myself wanting to leave before I had planned. When the thought first arose, I pushed it away. After some time, I again felt a tug on my heart to leave. It had been over half an hour since mass had finished. I packed up and started walking out of the church. As I turned towards where I had parked my car, I saw the same old lady standing outside the church boundary wall as though waiting. I first wanted to go say hello but then decided against it. However, I turned back again and approached and greeted her. I asked if she was okay. She said she was waiting for a taxi. I asked if it was on its way. She said it did not seem to be coming and she did not know why, as she had booked it before coming to church. I asked if I could drop her and asked where she lived. She said she certainly did not want to trouble me, but I told her it was not a problem at all. I told her to wait while I went and brought my car. As we drove to her home in a retirement community, she kept gushing about how this had never happened to her, and no one had done this for her and that I was an angel. I assured her that it was my privilege to drop her off and that I was delighted to have met her. It turned out her phone was off, and she would have had to find a bus stop and the route to have gone home. I told her that God must love her very much to be so quick to respond to her sudden predicament.

What I didn’t tell her was that my aged father had passed the day before and that I was subconsciously trying