A Lenten Reflection for the Third Week of Lent

My impatience grew increasingly worse as I saw the line getting longer and longer. I stood there in the basement of the Boston Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter in Boston, with a handful of students from the high school where I was working at the time. I felt helpless and anxious. My need to control this situation was strong. I soon felt the feelings of dread and panic creep in as I feared that those waiting in line were beginning to get upset. Our group was assigned a somewhat simple job for the day to prepare and serve the food for the many guests at the Mission. I have no recollection of what we served for the main meal. However, I can't help but to recall the dessert for that day-ice cream sundaes. In hindsight, it should have been the easiest part at the Mission. We simply had to scoop ice cream into dishes and invite the guests to create their own sundae with the variety of toppings provided. That seemingly simple dessert turned into a lesson that I should not forget.

Ashley stood at about 4'10", and on a good day, she probably weighed in at 85 pounds. Of all the students serving at the Boston Rescue Mission, Ashley was the most excited, energized, and committed. She could not wait to start her job yet I couldn't help but to want to do her 'job' for her. Ashley was in charge of simply scooping ice cream into the dishes. For Ashley it was a very lengthy process. At first, I stood next to Ashley encouraging her to keep moving and to stay focused on her job. She was quite slow at her work and she was being very meticulous about how she served each dessert to each guest at the Mission. The line was growing longer and longer with each carefully crafted dessert she scooped. The ice cream was also frozen solid and with Ashley standing at such a petite stature, it wasn't easy. But Ashley was determined and committed to her work and she took great pride in what she was doing for the homeless men and women she was meeting. She was present to each person to whom she gave a bowl of ice cream and she would look each person in the eye and tell them to 'enjoy their ice cream' or 'have a great night!' Ashley gave each person the dignity that the deserved. She saw God breathing, working, living, and dwelling in each individual man and woman. At her young age, she knew the importance of the work that she was doing.

As I think back to this experience, I am humbled by the lesson that I learned on that cold day in the basement of a homeless shelter. God dwells in all places and in all people. My need to control the situation and my inability to truly be present to a situation, took away from my ability to see God dwelling in the basement of the Boston Rescue Mission and in the men, women, and children I encountered. I was so anxious to move the line along, to get the process going, to complete the task that we were assigned, that I failed to be present to the people and I failed to recognize God within this situation. During this holy season of Lent, I find myself reflecting upon this experience and wondering how often I miss God dwelling amidst the experiences I encounter each day.

The Scripture readings for this third week of Lent address the dwelling place of God. In the Gospel, we encounter Jesus entering the Temple and growing angry at what he finds. "He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers seated there. He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables…" (John 2:14) The Temple was the dwelling place of God and it had become a place of commerce. There was a great deal of abuse of money taking place inside the Temple and Jesus was upset. He warns the people in the Temple in Jerusalem of the dangers of worshipping money. The dwelling place of God had turned into something radically different and money and possessions has lured the people away from God.

Lent offers us the opportunity to think about what takes our attention away from God. Jean Vanier, author of Drawn Into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John, writes, "Money has become the focus of our culture worldwide. It is being used to cultivate an acute individualism: wealth, all the signs of wealth, houses, cars, gadgets, for me and for my family and my group! If money were better distributed, if we sought to use it to bring greater justice and peace to other people, our world could become a greater place." Do we, as the people we encounter in this gospel story, allow money or the desire for money and material possessions to control our thoughts, actions, and decisions? Do we contribute to the injustices present in the world by our use and/or misuse of money?

In this gospel story, Jesus goes on to speak about his body as the temple of God. Vanier writes, "Jesus reveals to us that his body is the dwelling place of God where we can find life. But we often seek life in the culture of money and forget that we too are the dwelling place of God." How often do we recognize that we and others are the dwelling place of God? What changes when we take the time to recognize this?

It was a 4'10, 85 pound, 14 year old girl who helped me to refocus my vision in the basement of the Boston Rescue Mission. She helped me to see God dwelling amidst the men and women present there. She helped me to recognize the importance of being intentional about the work that we do.

As this Lenten season continues, it is important to continue to be aware of the places in which and the people in whom God dwells. In his book, God and You, author William Barry writes, "Once I heard someone say that the Chinese search for the jade ring through which they can speak to God and God to them. All of us are looking for our jade ring, a place and perhaps a method for meeting God." We need simply to open our eyes to find the jade ring dwelling amidst and within us.