The Gesima Sundays Still Have Meaning

 

This bright yellow dandelion is "laughing" because the long-armed gardener doesn't have a plan: you don't get rid of a dandelion by yanking it. Dandelions have long carrot-like tap roots. The only thing that'll happen here is the stems and leaves will break off — the persistent root will remain. This gardener has real work ahead of him if he wants the dandelions gone.

And once again (at least on the old liturgical calendar) it is Septuagesima Sunday. It is  roughly seventy days to Easter. Sexagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays will follow. Lent is the prep time for Easter and the three "gesima" Sundays are a kind of prep to the prep. Too bad they were abolished in the throw-away 60's. I suppose they were thought to be redundant. But Lent is a major deal and we could do with some time to think about how we're going to approach it — something this gardener has failed to do going haphazardly into the weedy yard, grabbing ignorantly at this and that. 

The liturgical year reflects nature which takes place gradually, over time. The American way jumps right in. Spiritually that's dangerous — show up, get your ashes, get your wafer, get your blessing and off you go! I'd suggest getting rid of these prep Sundays was a sell out to the crazed, hurry-up culture which picked up steam in the 1960's. But nothing in the spiritual life is in a hurry. When I was a boy, a 45 minute sermon was almost normative. Later, in the seminary the instruction was, "If you can't say it in eleven minutes, don't bother." I met a seminarian more recently who told me, "Eight minutes is the maximum time for a homily."

Here's an idea for the prep Sundays: think about getting rid of opinionating during Lent. Americans opine about everything — I like this; not that. This is okay; that's not. This is acceptable; that's too far. Please review and rate our service. If there's anything that reflects this opinionating world gone out of control it's the whole mask "debate." I put "debate" in quotes not because it's a real debate but more an almost violent defense of why someone refuses to wear one, especially if science suggests a benefit. Tweeting — so out of control we have the phrase, Tweet Storm. 

I took an icon painting tutorial some years ago — myself, the instructor (an Orthodox priest's wife) and two women parishioners. The ladies talked non-stop while painting their icons: what the grandchildren were up to, what they saw in the stores, what they were going to do the rest of the day, where they got the coffee they brought in with them. The priest walked into the room one morning, watched a few moments (listened really) and then with a nice smile said as he turned to leave, "Where there are many words, sin cannot be avoided."  Some people might not like the word "sin" — they might be of the opinion it sounds too old-fashioned. Maybe better, "Where there are many words, spiritual wrong turns cannot be avoided." 

Septuagesima Sunday suggests we might start to listen more consciously to ourselves if we want to get-ready for Lent. Listen for the flood of opinions surrounding us, especially if we've got the news on all day or spend a lot of time on the phone. We can be a grabby culture, e.g. toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizer, coldcuts. Opinionating is a kind of grabbing or grasping after approval, recognition, power, self-reassurance or influence. 

We might "give up" opinionating this Lent and see what we discover about ourselves. I'd suggest it's infinitely harder to do than no chocolate, no wine and much more important and life-enhancing. Come Easter, someone might say, "You know, you're different." In fact, I'd suggest if no one ever says, "You know, something's different about you lately," I'm no better off than the gardener who doesn't get at the dandelion root. 

Intercessions ~ Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

We all live under the threat of bombs./ May we heed the invitation of Pope Francis,/ to learn the skills of honest dialogue,/ and how to contain such planet destroying power./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the President of the United States/ and all in Civil Authority./ Mindful of their calling,/ may they be guided by God's providence,/ of mercy,/ compassion,/ wisdom and justice./ We pray to the Lord.

With new variants/ coronavirus remains a deadly threat./ May we be sober and intelligent in our response./ Bless those who continue bravely and generously/ to care for the sick./ We pray to the Lord.

A television special this week was titled "Divided America—Why we hate each other."/ We ask for a national healing,/ May the religions of our country,/ facilitate reconciliation/ and maturity in the spiritual life./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray for the millions of people who are unemployed or feeling insecure./ And while we concern ourselves with the needs of our own nation,/ we pray for those places around the world where there is human degradation/ disaster,/ violence,/ unrest or destruction./ We pray to the Lord.

On the old calendar/ today is called Septuagesima Sunday,/ roughly seventy days until Easter./ Grant that as the Lenten-Easter Season approaches,/ we might consider a positive approach/ by which we set out to realize more deeply our true selves./ We pray to the Lord.  

In January/ we may begin to sense an increase of light./ May the nation come out of its darkness/  the shadow of lies,/ conspiracy theories,/ partisan games,/ the internet underworld/ false patriotism/ and the mental health crisis which many suffer./ We pray to the Lord.

The Gesima Sundays - They can be helpful

 

On the old liturgical calendar, beginning this Sunday, we would observe what are called the gesima Sundays—first, Septuagesima (roughly 70 days until Easter), then Sexagesima (roughly sixty days until Easter) and finally, the week before Ash Wednesday, Quinquagesima (roughly fifty days until Easter). 

These seasonal church times were dropped in the late 1960's liturgical changes, but some Episcopal and Lutheran churches still observe them, as do the Catholic parishes which observe the traditional Latin Rite. I think they might have been dropped because Lent is the 'get ready' time for Easter, so these three gesima weeks would then be the get ready for the get ready. Perhaps redundant?

The 1960's saw the acceleration of everything — fast food came into vogue, faster cars, low maintenance and instant everything, having to be in three places at once. But the spiritual life isn't like that. Now and again something might knock us off our high horse, but as a rule the spiritual life is like the four seasons or life in the garden. Acorns and seed pods, fruits and vegetables don't just pop out of the plant, but they ripen and mature gradually, over time. The spiritual life is like that. So, the three weeks prior to the start of Lent invite us to turn our attention inward — spiritual antennas up! We have three weeks to consider how we're going to approach Lent. Not three weeks to decide what to give up especially of the candy-kind (hopefully we've matured beyond that) but how am I going to heal and return to my original nature — the Creator's inner plan for me.

In the introduction to When the Trees Say Nothing — a collection of nature writings by Thomas Merton, we read (speaking of Merton)... 

Ever in search of his "true self" beneath his distress and artifice, he came in time to realize it was none other than his "green self" — his original nature healed of inner agitation, congestion, drivenness, turmoil, and suffering by entrainment to the merciful rhythms of the elements, the seasons, the creatures, in the particular bioregion of Kentucky that he called home."

But there it is — the spiritual life as self-confrontation and healing. There it is — the  spiritual life as the discovery of the 'true self' under our anxieties and artifice. Artifice:  the superficial, outer, surface-y shell I build or construct to navigate life safely. 

So, this Sunday is Septuagesima, whether it's on the calendar or not. The change to liturgical purple means we've shifted into the penitential or turning time. I want a Lent that's going to be like a springtime — a time of sprouting, opening up, growing something new of myself, seeing more clearly by an inner light.

"Oh, look at that," might be a springtime refrain — the snow under the tree that refuses to melt, the first shoots of bulbs popping up through thawing ground, the lawn brightening into green, the daylight growing more intense. But ultimately these are interior possibilities — the sky, the ground, the water, the air — all within me.  

Another way to state it perhaps — Lent is awakening (as is the springtime) to what it means to be truly alive — emphasis on the word "truly" — contrasted with life as consuming, defending, talking and opinionating, owning, hoarding, fussing, imagining, manipulating. My goodness, but we spend so much of our lives in these interior places. But I must be brave and truly humble enough to take it on.