new life bursting through death

this is a great video of rowan williams, archbishop of canterbury, discussing lent.
it's not about gloom but 'new life bursting through death'.

a lenten theme song: 'dead & gone'

i keep hearing 'dead & gone' by t.i. & justin timberlake on the radio. it is officially my lenten theme song for 2009:

Ohh, I've been traveling on this road too long
Just trying to find my way back home
The old me is dead and gone
dead and gone

i don't really care too much for christian music. i tend to not really care for the music itself and alot of the lyrics seem to, in some way, have already arrived...

i definitely feel like my christianity is still seeking.
yet even now, i am so different from who i used to be...

I turn my head to the east
I don't see nobody by my side
I turn my head to the west
Still nobody in sight
So I turn my head to the north,
swallow that pill
that they call pride
The old me is dead and gone,
The new me will be alright

salvation with fear and trembling

Sacrifice of Isaac, Caravaggio, 1603

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Philippians 2:12

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

fear and trembling. hmmm... i'm not a biblical scholar but i've never felt this as a call to terror but perhaps a call to rigor.

this is something that feels especially relevant during lent as i aim to fulfill my sacred disciplines.

but i think the "work out your own" is pivotal. work out/your own. it's a directive. it's personal. a call to action.

make your salvation mean something to you. make Christ mean something to you. reach into His sacrifice and do something with it. take it seriously.

sweat with it.

the endless pursuit of romantic love

Without hesitation, the Dalai Lama said,

I think that, leaving aside how the endless pursuit of romantic love may affect our deeper spiritual growth, even from the perspective of a conventional way of life, the idealization of this romantic love can be seen as extreme. Unlike those relationships based on caring and genuine affection, this is another matter. It cannot be seen as a positive thing. It's something that is based on fantasy, unattainable, and therefore may be a source of frustration. So, on that basis it cannot be seen as a good thing.

The Art of Happiness, The Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutler, M.D.

the lenten disciplines

it's funny - many people participate in keeping a lenten discipline almost to the point that one might consider it a secular endeavor. how do i keep my lenten disciplines holy? how does one observe a meaningful lent?

how does one even begin to prepare their hearts for the journey towards easter? how can one make lent meaningful and transformative in their life?

it's days after ash wednesday and i am not entirely satisfied with my lenten disciplines. i have renounced alcohol and verbal obscenities. but somehow it doesn't seem enough. for now, those are the very specific disciplines i have decided to keep.

also, i've decided to lessen. to spend less. eat less. entertain myself less. all in an effort to make my life a little smaller so that i might possibly see more of God in it. honor Him more through it. and perhaps even participate somehow in Christ's temptation in the desert.

somehow i still feel as if i should include something - add something additional to my plate.

i've started reading alexander schmemann's great lent journey to pascha to help me get some bearings on Lent and how to truly take advantage of this season of 'bright sadness'.