Lent 2023 - Take a Look
March 15, 2023
Dear Allen Temple Family and Friends,
It won't be long now. With each passing day, we move closer and closer to the moment that changed the world. It certainly changed my world. Today, could be deemed the mid-point. The middle is always a good time to pause, reflect, and readjust before moving forward.
We started this journey accepting the invitation to CENTER DOWN. If you have not read the meditation by Dr. Howard Thurman, you may do so here.
We have explored the challenges and highlighted the practices that can help us in the process: Solitude, Stillness, Silence and Sacrifice. These practices are not without purpose. Dr. Thurman has suggested that they are meant to cause us to:
Look at ourselves in this waiting moment—the kinds of people we are.
The questions persist: what are we doing with our lives?—what are the motives that order our days?
What is the end of our doings? Where are we trying to go? Where do we put the emphasis and where are our values focused? For what end do we make sacrifices?
Where is my treasure and what do I love most in life?
What do I hate most in life and to what am I true? Over and over the questions beat upon the waiting moment.
Which one of the these questions stick out for you most? Which questions remain unanswered or unclear? How have you answers changed? Do they need to? You may have your own questions. In 2 Corinthians 13:5, the Apostle Paul gives the following admonition as he departs - "Examine Yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you…" (NIV)
The practice this week is a simple one, at least the ask is simple. Take this week and answer the questions that grip you the most. I'll tell you the questions that grip me next week.
Self-examination is dangerous work. Some scholars suggest it can also be deceptive. But remember Proverbs 27:19 - As in water face reflects face, so does the heart of man reflect the man. (ESV) Go ahead..take a look!
Centering Down,
Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson
Senior Pastor