Slideshow image

This article was written by Kathrine Murray and was published in the March issue of Topic.

In Lent we recall Jesus’s 40-day journey of prayer and fasting through the wilderness as told in Matthew 4, Mark 1, and Luke 4. Luke writes that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Spirit and then at the end of the 40 days that Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee. The activity of the Spirit bookends Jesus’ journey.

In between these bookends we read that Jesus fasted, prayed, and was tempted - particularly in three ways.  The praxis booklet on the contemplative prayer practice Welcoming Prayer explains Jesus’s temptations this way: hungry after having fasted for 40 days, Jesus is tempted to use his power to create food to feed himself. In this he is tempted to take care of his own survival needs, his need for security. He is also tempted to put his power on display in exchange for fame and esteem. Jesus is then tempted to worship what is false, in exchange for world power and domination.[1]

In these temptations I see that Jesus is tempted to:

take matters into his own hands

to not trust God

to act independently of God

to prove himself

to power over

 

But Jesus does not yield to these temptations. He chooses to surrender to God. Jesus empties himself of his own will and power and is filled with the power of the Spirit. The emptying led to a filling. This is kenosis, the Jesus Way. In doing so, Jesus shows us a right relationship with power: let go of ego-rooted power to be filled with the power of the Spirit.

In recalling Jesus’ journey in Lent, I am invited into a deep self-examen and my motives for my choices: Am I reaching for power and control? Esteem or affection? Security and safety? Where do I need to let go and surrender to God? Episcopal priest and author Stephanie Spellers writing on letting go of power says,

“When you take something you possess—your bread and power, your abilities and identities, your comfort and control, your treasured structures and even life itself—and release your attachment to it and make it useful to God’s movement, you are practicing kenosis."[2]

I expand my lens to consider: what might a collective Lenten examen look like for us as the Anglican Church of the Diocese of New Westminster? Where are we tempted to reach or hold on

to power? Where might we be asked to surrender and to trust God? Is there anything we might need to let go of? How might a Lenten examen help us, for example, with questions of land stewardship?

As I write this it is January and the news is full of stories about the LA wildfires, the incoming US President and all his plans—especially for Canada; the Liberal party of Canada leadership race; an Israel-Hamas agreement; the war between Ukraine and Russia; inflation; the housing crisis; and a shocking amount of hate. The world cries out for Spirit-filled responses and actions. We are in need of a global Lenten examen for such a time as this.

[1] Contemplative Outreach Ltd. Welcoming Prayer Consent on the Go: 40 day practice. 2018, p.18-20.

[2] Spellers, Stephanie. “Letting Go of Power,” in Daily Meditations, Center for Action and Contemplation, August 12, 2021. https://cac.org/daily-meditations/letting-go-of-power-2021-08-12/

---

Katherine Murray is the former Associate Director of the Centre for Spiritual Renewal and St. Dunstan parish. She is also a Spiritual Director and retreat leader.