Our dustmen turned up late this week so one of our community had to jump on our bin to fit the excess recycling in. It got me thinking about God as a rubbish collector for us during lent. Every year the Churches invite us to share Lent together. It is a time of sifting and sorting, identifying what is essential, what we can let go of and what is simply blocking space and light in our lives.
The rubbish can gather in the corners of our rooms, in our friendships and in our interior lives. Being surrounded by excess stuff can drain our energy. Some of the rubbish we collect can start to smell so bad that it becomes a health risk. Other rubbish keeps tripping us up, we have to go around it and it slows us down. We lose simplicity in our lives.
In our interior lives we can also be overwhelmed by things that hold us back from a simpler and freer life. Resentment, fears, sadness, greed, jealousy, and hopelessness all gather as millstones on our motivation to do good and to live life to the full.
So, when the church asks us to engage with the ancient Lenten practices it also invites us to prayer, fasting and charity. Prayer, so that we can reflect on what is essential and let go of other things. Fasting, so that we can strengthen our will power to live more simply. Charity, so that we can share our non-essentials with those in need.
As you empty bins this week, remember Lent is almost over and its not too late to do the clear up before Easter. Remember that you are precious, that you are not rubbish. So don’t bury yourself in rubbish. God doesn’t make rubbish – God collects rubbish and recycles it into eternal life. So, dig out your bin bags and get going before Easter arrives.
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