February 26 – March 3, 2012
There is a long tradition of making the Season of Lent a special time for reflection, especially personal reflections on one’s faith journey. Here are some suggestions
for reflecting on your faith journey. If your congregation has created a labyrinth for the season, try using the suggested reflections for the labyrinth journey. Labyrinths are symbolic journeys, a distilled version of the path we walk through life guided by our faith. If you don’t have access to a labyrinth, or would also like to be more intentional about your journey through each day in your normal routine, use the second set of suggestions. This year, Lent is a time of immersing ourselves in God’s promises of presence, love, and guidance – enjoy the journey.
The first week of Lent: Blessed Connections
Reflections for the labyrinth journey
In the focus story for the first week of Lent, God’s promise to Noah and his family is set out amongst the clouds – distant, elusive, beautiful, fleeting but also reliable and regularly present in the right conditions. It is the rainbow, of course, and Noah and his family look to it as sign and symbol of a binding connection forged by God. It is God’s own personal reminder, to them and to God, that the ties between them will not be broken. Picture a sticky note in the sky, “Note to self – do not destroy ties that bind!”Where are the sticky notes in your world – outside signs and symbols that remind you of essential connections?
As you travel the pathway of the labyrinth, think about the external supports that help you maintain the ties that bind you to self, God, and others. For example, keeping a birthday
calendar of people you love and care for reminds you to mark their special days. The daily sunset reminds you that evening is coming when you can relax and reflect on your day. A quilt made by your great-grandmother hangs in the living room to remind you of your responsibilities to generations past and future. The signs and symbols can be natural, manufactured, multi-sensory, regular or sporadic, very personal or universal. What cues in your environment help you maintain respect for and delight in the interdependencies of life? At the centre of the labyrinth, give thanks for these signs and symbols, and for the connections to which they relate. As you move out of the labyrinth, reflect on your most important relationships. What new signs and symbols would you like to carry with you as supports to those connections? For example, putting it into your calendar to Internet chat with a far-away friend once a month.
Reflections for your daily routine
During the course of your normal day, pay attention to the signs and symbols of your primary connections to self, others, and God. How does your environment help you attend to these links? What else can you add to your environment to support these connections? Keep a journal throughout the day as you note various signs and symbols, or write about your reflections at the end of the day.
Copyright © Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2011 P41 Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFUSION Lent • Easter 2012
