The Bishop and Canons are sharing meditations on diocesan life on the Wednesdays during Lent. You can read the Bishop's introduction from Ash Wednesday here. 

The Meditation

So, what was the color of that dress? Such was the hot topic on social media last week. Admittedly, the question itself may cause the same eye rolling and heavy sighing one might expect if mentioning "deflategate." Nevertheless I think the phenomenon of social media "going viral" is worthy of reflection.

Why do we click on these posts others are commenting on? Why do we follow the gaining momentum of what is "trending"? (Even if you don't follow along electronically, you'll undoubtedly hear others talking about it in the background of conversations all week. So, we might as well ask, "What is going on here?")  

Ultimately, this reality of topics "going viral" is about the human desire for community. We don't want to be left in the cold, out of the loop; we want to know what others are up to, what folks are going on about. And so, we click, and we comment, and we share. Underneath all of this activity is a fundamental human need - acceptance, connection, community. We long for togetherness.

Observing Lent is about this too. Often we are encouraged to interpret our participation in Lent from a very individualistic perspective. You know the proverbial questions: "What are you going to give up for Lent? What are you going to add on, or study? How are you going to pray?" But, the whole notion of entering into Lent itself is a response to, a call from, and a practice entered into by, community. It is about togetherness.

On Ash Wednesday we are invited to the observance of a holy Lent not with words addressed first to the individual about the individual. Rather the call is offered to an entire people to enter into shared disciplines because certain members of the community are undergoing particular rites of passage. Is everyone getting baptized on Easter? No. Does everyone need restored to the fellowship because of notorious sins? No. But, this isn't just about meeting individual needs.

During Lent, "the whole congregation is put in the mind of the message of pardon and absolution..."(Book of Common Prayer, 265). The communal character of Lenten observance took shape because a community decidedly entered into a season of preparation - together. We know we need each other if we are going to live out the radical demands of the Christian life. This is not about isolated individuals "getting saved," but a people entering deeply into covenant relationship with the God of redemption. We do this together.

Since this season is based in a communal call to enter into the shared experience of engaging common practices, I would like to recommend our entering into one of the classic disciplines of Lent - self-examination - in a decidedly communal way. Self-examination is properly interpreted as the individual taking account of their own soul. But, there is great power in individuals within Christian community entering into self-examination on a corporate level for the benefit of the whole. So, how can you go about this? Well, begin by examining yourself with the focus of how your connection to your church has affected and enabled you to live out your life as a Christian. Your self-examination on behalf of your community could begin with question such as:

• How has my church been life-giving to me?
• What do I deeply value about my congregation?
• What connects me to my church?
• How has my church contributed to my life? How could my congregation's life contribute to someone else's life? Why would I recommend my church community to my neighbors?
• How have I experience the core value of my church? What are the core values that make us who we are? What is it, if it were missing, that would make my church a completely different place than what it is?

The next step in the inquiry is to see that your church's life didn't just happen in vacuum.  It is not an anomaly.  Your church looks, worships, serves, and "does life" out of the life-giving well of a larger community. Your local congregation took its peculiar shape because the Diocese of Kentucky holds and gives life to certain values. We are an expression of one another's commitment and love for each other as we live out our Christian lives in a particular way. So, allow your examination to move to that larger community.

• What is it about belonging to the Episcopal Church that I deeply value?
• How has my being an Episcopalian contributed to my life?
• What makes me proud to be a part of our Diocesan family?  What ministries around the Diocese have I participated in, or see, or heard about, that spark energy, a connection, within me?
• What is it about my local congregation's connection to the Diocesan family that makes it what it is and has given it its particular shape?
• What is life-giving to me about being a part of the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky?

Our bishop called us in his Ash Wednesday meditation to "boldly embrace a journey that we expect to change us." Indeed, if we are going to enter more deeply into the new life that awaits us in this season we will need to give our attention to more than the colors of a dress (although it is fun to learn some of the science behind all of this!). In our more reflective moments this week let us focus our examination upon the ways being connected to our larger faith community has given us life and shaped us in our Christian journey. And let us give thanks. We might be surprised how this empowers and changes us. 

Solemn Prayer over the People