Preparing for the Light Beyond the Womb

As we stand at the threshold of Great Lent, we are invited into a story that feels strangely familiar. It's about a set of twins hanging out having a conversation in their mom's womb.

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The sister said to the brother, "I believe there is life after birth."

Her brother protested vehemently, "No, no. This is all there is. This is a dark, warm and cozy place, and we have nothing else to do but to cling to the cord that feeds us."

The sister insisted, "There must be something more than this dark place. There must be something else, a place with light where there is freedom to move."

Still she could not convince her twin brother. After some silence, the sister said hesitantly, "I have something else to say, and I'm afraid you won't believe that either, but I think there is a mother."

The brother became furious. "A mother!" he shouted. "What are you talking about? I have never seen a mother, and neither have you. Who put that idea in your head? As I told you, this place is all we have. Why do you always want more? This is not such a bad place, after all. We have all we need, so let's be content."

The sister was quite overwhelmed by her brother's response and for a while didn't say anything more. But she couldn't let go of her thoughts, and since she had only her twin brother to speak to, she finally said, "Don't you feel these squeezes once in a while? They're quite unpleasant and quite painful."

"Yes," he answered. "What's special about that?"

"Well," the sister said, "I think that these squeezes are here to get us ready for another place, much more beautiful than this, where we will see our mother face-to-face. Don't you think that's exciting?"*

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We hold on to what feels familiar: our comforts, our routines, our habits, oftentimes even our sins. Like the brother in the womb, we are tempted to say, "This is all there is. Let's just be content."

The brother can't imagine such a world. Yet the sister senses the exciting new world with hope. This is the amazing reality and drama of Lent!! The church speaks of the exciting new world in Christ!! We sense that we were made for more than the narrow space of self-satisfaction.

Lent opens our eyes to that exciting divine mystery. It stretches the cramped boundaries of the worldly womb we mistake for reality and teaches us to love beyond ourselves, to love every leaf, every face, every hungry stranger! Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote: "Love all God's creation, the whole of it and every grain of sand... If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in all things." Lent re-orients our vision on the Kingdom of God which is rooted in love! Doesn't that sound exciting?!!!?

You see, the world oftentimes measures life by our diplomas, salaries, influence, achievements or failures, by our immigration status, color of our skin, religious affiliation. But Christ reveals another standard: The standard of "I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in." The standard of: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind and love your neighbor. At the end of life, we will not be asked how impressive we were. We will be asked how deeply we loved!

You see, Lent reorders our priorities. It loosens our grip on the umbilical cord of this life that feeds our ego and redirects us toward the hungry, the lonely, the overlooked. It teaches us that love is the true measure of reality. Love, authenticity and connection are where we find peace.

So, repentance, a turning back to God and His Kingdom, is not about gloom—it's about AWAKENING!! Many have grown accustomed to thinking of repentance as gloomy, heavy, joyless, something we 'have' to do, a necessary sorrow, a spiritual punishment. But true repentance is nothing less than awakening and returning to our original beauty, embracing the honor God gives us, knowing we are His beloved children. Doesn't that sound exciting!?

It is the moment the twin dares to believe there is a mother that challenges our own daring to believe Jesus' voice, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things will be added unto you." (Mt. 6:33) Repentance is not focusing on our failures; it is a turning toward the One whose love is greater than them.

There is a paradox at the heart of Lent, a kind of "back to the future." We look honestly at our brokenness, yes. But we do so with our eyes fixed not on the darkness behind us, but on the light ahead of us. The focus is not our imperfection. The focus is Christ's perfect love!

The sister in the womb dares to reinterpret pain. "These painful squeezes," she says, "are getting us ready." So too Lent is getting us ready. The hunger of fasting awakens compassion for those who hunger daily. The discipline of prayer awakens communion with the living God, ourselves and one another. The practice of forgiveness frees us from the grips and prison of resentment.

What if the discomfort we feel in Lent is not deprivation, but preparation? What if it is the mercy of God widening our souls for a life we cannot yet imagine? Birth can be frightening from inside the womb. But from the outside, it is glory! Doesn't 'that' sound exciting?!

Seeing the Mother Face-to-Face, the sister's final hope, is breathtaking!!! She says, "We will see our mother face-to-face." This is the promise that carries us through Great Lent. We are not journeying toward mere moral improvement. We are journeying toward a relationship, a meeting, an encounter with Jesus, as we march toward Pascha. Toward the radiant proclamation that death itself is only a doorway. Toward the face of Christ. Isn't that exciting?!

The world may say, "This is all there is." But Lent dares to whisper, "Hey, listen, there is more!" There is light beyond this darkness. There is freedom beyond this confinement. There is love beyond our fear. There is a Mothering God who carries us even when we cannot see Him.

As we begin this holy season, may we not resist the squeezes. May we not cling only to the cord. May we awaken.

You see, Great Lent is not about losing something. It is about being reborn. It's about honoring that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is respecting that we are called to be the containers of God's grace to offer that grace to this desperate world. It is about a welcoming God that with open arms receives us no matter what, where or when!

Now that is "EXCITING!!!!"

A blessed Lenten journey to all!!

+Fr. Tom

* Parable adapted from Henri Nouwen, who used this image in Our Greatest Gift to help us imagine the life beyond death.

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