Leaving Behind
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Daily Reading: Luke 5:27 – 32
Focus Passage:
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. (Lk. 5:27 – 28)
Jesus was invitational. He did not influence by coercion. He didn’t force followers. Rather, he extended invitations.
He invited persons to follow him, to take on his way of seeing the world and his way of living in the world. He invited those he met to full personhood, becoming completely who God created them to be, even as he embodied what it meant to be fully human and fully God.
The human response to his invitation varies person-by-person. This tax collector, on the underside of social acceptability, got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.
For all of us, there is some kind of “leaving” involved as we follow Jesus. There is a movement from one way of being to a new stance of being with God, others, and the world.
Many folks treat Jesus as a rabbit’s foot, bringing good luck when carried in their pocket. Others see Jesus as an extra life-accessory who enhances their daily endeavors with success and vitality. These folks generally have little interest in inner transformation.
The Gospel reminds us that to follow Jesus we may not need to add anything to our lives, but we may have to leave behind many things. We gradually leave behind self-centeredness. We let go of long-held paradigms that never were ours in the first place. We are invited to leave behind patterns of thinking and living that are destructive to ourselves and those around us. We leave behind control and manipulation.
This is the meaning of “repentance” in Luke 5:32. Repentance is turning around. It suggests a new mindset, seeing God, ourselves, others and the world more expansively.
The Greek word for “repentance” in the New Testament literally means, “larger mind” or “going beyond the mind.” We’re invited to enter a more expansive framework, leaving our narrow notions of God, ourselves, and others. God calls us to this repentance.
During Lent we consider this work of repentance, open ourselves to a deeper connection to God, and step into a larger view of God’s entire created world.
For Reflection:
Spend some time today reflecting on what you have “left behind” in order to be where you are today on your spiritual journey. What has it been like to leave those things behind?
There is no need to plot out what you will leave behind in the future. Usually we cannot see those things from here. What you CAN do is commit yourself to a posture of openness and receptivity so that when the time comes to leave behind something that lives within you, you will be able to respond to God’s invitation.
Daily Reading: Luke 5:27 – 32
Focus Passage:
After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. (Lk. 5:27 – 28)
Jesus was invitational. He did not influence by coercion. He didn’t force followers. Rather, he extended invitations.
He invited persons to follow him, to take on his way of seeing the world and his way of living in the world. He invited those he met to full personhood, becoming completely who God created them to be, even as he embodied what it meant to be fully human and fully God.
The human response to his invitation varies person-by-person. This tax collector, on the underside of social acceptability, got up, left everything, and followed Jesus.
For all of us, there is some kind of “leaving” involved as we follow Jesus. There is a movement from one way of being to a new stance of being with God, others, and the world.
Many folks treat Jesus as a rabbit’s foot, bringing good luck when carried in their pocket. Others see Jesus as an extra life-accessory who enhances their daily endeavors with success and vitality. These folks generally have little interest in inner transformation.
The Gospel reminds us that to follow Jesus we may not need to add anything to our lives, but we may have to leave behind many things. We gradually leave behind self-centeredness. We let go of long-held paradigms that never were ours in the first place. We are invited to leave behind patterns of thinking and living that are destructive to ourselves and those around us. We leave behind control and manipulation.
This is the meaning of “repentance” in Luke 5:32. Repentance is turning around. It suggests a new mindset, seeing God, ourselves, others and the world more expansively.
The Greek word for “repentance” in the New Testament literally means, “larger mind” or “going beyond the mind.” We’re invited to enter a more expansive framework, leaving our narrow notions of God, ourselves, and others. God calls us to this repentance.
During Lent we consider this work of repentance, open ourselves to a deeper connection to God, and step into a larger view of God’s entire created world.
For Reflection:
Spend some time today reflecting on what you have “left behind” in order to be where you are today on your spiritual journey. What has it been like to leave those things behind?
There is no need to plot out what you will leave behind in the future. Usually we cannot see those things from here. What you CAN do is commit yourself to a posture of openness and receptivity so that when the time comes to leave behind something that lives within you, you will be able to respond to God’s invitation.
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