If we allow ourselves to dwell on that
cliché-ridden notion that this or that might be worth giving up for Lent then
we need to ask ourselves honestly whether we have any need at all for whatever
it may be. St Paul famously said that “Godliness with contentment is great
gain, we brought nothing into this world and it is certain that we can carry
nothing out”, and the Psalmist exhorts us in the above passage not to be
overawed when we see riches all around us
- and, in a later psalm, not to
set our heart on riches should they increase, later echoed again in Paul’s
warning that “those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and
into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge us into ruin and
destruction”. The world around us is now all too clearly paying the price for
many years of greed so shamefully articulated by one of the earlier credit card
providers which promised to “take the waiting out of wanting”. So let us use
this precious season to re-evaluate our lifestyle, cut out the inessentials,
travel light, and so reduce the cacophony of materialistic background noise
that drowns out that comforting “Still Small Voice” that Elijah heard, and with
which the Desert Fathers were so much more familiar than we are…….
Profitons-en durant cette période précieuse pour évaluer notre mode de vie, nous couper de ce qui n’est pas essentiel, voyager léger et réduire la cacophonie du bruit d’arrière-fond matérialiste qui noie la voix qu’Elie entendit et dont les Pères du Désert étaient plus familiers que nous…
Simon
Robbins
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