Lenten Apologies

by Rev. David Rommereim

Lent is a time of great spiritual verve. We come to community worship, peek into the Gospel narrative searching for the teachings of Jesus that may make meaning for these challenging days of 2013. We are encouraged to cleanse our hearts and occasionally sing: "renew a right spirit within me," or "caste me not away from Thy presence."

I have called Lent, the Springtime of the Soul so many times, that you are probably bored with hearing the phrase. Nevertheless, every time the crocuses come up from the cold earth I know God is relentless to get through the thick membranes of my habits, assumptions, and willingness to speed by the beauty of God.

Then it happens. Right after the Crocuses rise, I remember Jeremiah the Prophet who is a distant mentor of another prophet, Jesus of Nazareth.

The Book Jeremiah testifies to his 40-year career as an urban prophet of Jerusalem (627~586 b.c.e). His ministry took place during the Babylon Captivity (597 b.c.e.) - the first of many holocausts for the Jews. It is in chapter 1.4-10 that God gives Jerry his job description. Immediately, God asks; "What do you see?" (v.11)

Jeremiah answers, "I see a branch of an almond tree (shaqed). Then Adonai says, "You have seen well, for I am watching (shoqed) over my Word to perform it."

The Almond Tree is the earliest tree to bloom in the Middle East. Before it puts out leaves, it puts forth abundant snowy blossoms. It is a radical invitation to spring. For humankind spring reminds us that God is about death coming alive.

That poetic exchange between Adonai and the young prophet is so powerful for our own day. I hope you are able to hear for yourself the nuance of shaqed and shoqed ~ seeing the blossom and God watching.

That poetry, together with many biblical stories during the season of Lent, reminds me to wake up and see what I am missing. It reminds me that we are consuming God in a devouring manner due to our present culture. The almond trees are suffering. Such a consuming culture becomes occupied with death unaware.

The transition from winter to spring challenges us in the same manner in which Jeremiah was questioned by God. The purpose was that he see the Almond tree blossom (shaqed) so that God may watch (shoqed) the Word performed.

What is the performance of God's Word? It is your story, and our story of death coming alive.

For me, Lent remains a time to recollect and recompose a divine life. Perhaps, because God is watching I will use less energy, lower our church's fossil footprint, walk, listen, watch, and slow down to catch the breeze of God.

Lent begins the time to remember and renew. It happens faithfully, after I set my case before God, speak honestly in my own defense, and "apologize" (to God, self, other, and the earth I have borrowed for these 22,326 days). Until I apologize, I remain outside the shaqed (Almond tree), the shoqed (God's watching), and the blossoms.

Now let me leave you a poem. I wrote it as I work with a Lenten apology to God.

~ Pastor

APO ~ LOGOS

Let me take words

Off their pedestal

Peek into the sound

Of the wave

Touch the back

Of the storm

As she twitches

Dirt into waste

Let the pounding

Convert conversation

Of solemn regret

To a litmus

Of danger on the morrow

Framing harms way

By a chorus who

Chants of gloom

With time to speak

Against the travails

That takes green

Out of earth

Blue from sky

And whistling lips

From children who

No longer tickle grass

Or speak again

With those

Against the wall

Who see rhythm

Played in the theatre

Of the still birth

Laughing at

A resurrection

Let me smith words

That make bodies

Into beings who

Make new matter

Apology:  ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (denoting a formal defense against an accusation): from French apologie, or via late Latin from Greek apologia ~ 'a speech in one's own defense,'  from apo 'away' + -logia (see -logy ). 'To speak (logia) away' (apo)

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