Forgiveness
Fasting & Feasting Lenten Retreat Wk 5
Image: Fallen, 2015 Steel, Aluminum (found cans), Wire, Soot, Flashe, Paul Villinski
Waking Instructions by Emma Mellon
Crawl ashore
To the damp beginning of day.
Forget before and after.
Allow yourself
to be spelled differently.
It will feel like falling.
It has waiting attached.
Scripture for Reflection
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.
Proverbs 17:9, Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.
Ephesians 4: 31, Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Isaiah 43:18-19. Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
Forgiveness
Reflection by Lisa Cole Smith
Fasting is a practice that allows us to make room for something; to become aware of our true hungers and then stoke our appetite for what will truly nourish our souls. Often this means replacing thoughts, feelings, activities that are taking up space in our lives and our spiritual bellies but not fueling the fullness of our humanity. And this is related to forgiveness and to letting go. Not easy things but truly essential.
We have to make room for the good and clear the plate for what God wants to fill us with. But then, it is time for the feast. We aren’t meant to starve. We are invited to a banquet of God’s love. Fasting can be the key to awareness and then invites us to partake in the feast of God’s blessing.
Balloon Girl, Graffiti, Banksy
Suggested activity:
When we let go of that which is in the way we create space for the new to enter in, or room for growth for that which is already there. The activity this week is in two parts; one for letting go and one for letting in.
– Read Poem for Flight and consider what you need to let go of. This might be grievances (involving others, yourself, the Divine), barriers you’ve identified in a previous week, or things that you are angry about (such as traffic, cold weather, or your circumstances). Since a physical act of releasing can help with psychological letting go, think of an activity or ritual that may help you. You might want to write it on a piece of paper and burn it until only ashes remain. Perhaps you could bury it in the earth, sing it into the wind, write a goodbye letter, or release it through dance or movement.
– Then engage in an exercise that lets in the gifts and blessings that are already in your life. Options include: Take a walk in nature, noticing the beauty around you, and be thankful. Make a collage, or other form of art, that depicts the gifts and blessings in your life. List your blessings and put them into a poem. Write a letter of thanksgiving to God. If you wish, begin with confession for what you’ve taken for granted.
– Re-connect with that which fills you. Is there a relationship, an activity, a favorite book or movie, that has brought you joy in the past? Consider re-connecting or re-engaging with that blessing.
“The Forgiveness Project: Part One” ABD Productions, www.theforgivenessproject.org
Poetry for Meditation and Reflection
Poem for Flight (excerpt), author unknown
There will come a day –
it is not far off now –
when you wake in the morning and know
you were meant to be happy
and that you want it
more than you want
things, or memories
any concrete place called home
all the strings of the past that fasten you,
more than you want
justice or pride:
your old clay image of yourself
or the faint chance
that all that has gone wrong
may still change.
It is you who hold
the power to change.
And whatever it is that holds you
whatever it is you think you cannot live without
the time has come to open your hands and
let it go.
Run
flee
disappear
break loose
take wing
fly by night
move like a meteor
be gone.
Birdwings by Rumi
Your grief for what you’ve lost lifts a mirror
up to where you are bravely working.
Expecting the worst, you look, and instead,
here’s the joyful face you’ve been wanting to see.
Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes.
If it were always a fist or always stretched open,
you would be paralyzed.
Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding,
the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated
as birdwings
From Epiphany (1), by Jan Richardson
God beyond borders,
may I wander
with wanting enough
to unlearn my path,
with wonder enough
to receive the secrets of each place,
with wisdom enough
to allow them to whisper me
home a different way.
From Epiphany (2), by Jan Richardson
That our receiving
May be like breathing:
taking in,
letting go.
That our holding
may be like loving:
taking care,
setting free.
That our giving
may be like leaving:
singing thanks,
moving on.
There are several ways that you may specifically engage with the weekly material:
- personalize one of the poems to create your own;
- respond to the poem through poetry, journaling, or other art form;
- underline words or phrases that speak to you from the reflection, poetry, and/or scripture and create a poem from these words;
- create art in response to the reflection;
- maintain an ongoing journal of your experiences with the material;
- engage in a weekly discussion with someone about your experience.
This Online Lenten Retreat is also available via a weekly email. Please click here if you would like to receive the retreat in your inbox until Easter.
Read Wk 1: What are You Hungry For?
Read Wk 2: Creating Space
Read Wk 3: Pulling Focus
Read Wk 4: Breaking Barriers
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