From [Compulsory] to [Inherent]
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Leviticus 19:1–2
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. Matthew 15:7
During Lent I spend a lot of time reflecting on my Lenten practices of past. It is probably a coping mechanism for whatever struggle I face in the renewed or new practice that I have committed myself to for six weeks. Most years when I have felt the Lord call me to a different Lenten practice, I have seen it as a finite commitment, six weeks. Usually at the beginning of Lent I look forward to dropping my cross on Easter and returning to ‘normal.’ A funny thing seems to have happened though in the last 6 or so years, Easter comes and I don’t drop my cross, I continue to carry it. Somewhere in the six weeks what felt a burden has in some way become a blessing. The Lords words ring true,
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Lent at its core is an opportunity for practice; the invitation to live some aspect of our faith more regularly and more fully. 40 days in the desert give us six weeks to make something a habit and once something has become a habit, it becomes natural and easy. As I have been reading the daily Lenten scripture, God’s law is reiterated over and over. This can at times feel tiresome. It can feel like a perpetual reprimand of where we fall short. One morning, in prayer, two words came to me from Holy Spirit, [Compulsory] and [Inherent].
compulsory: required by law or rule; obligatory
inherent: existing in someone as an essential, permanent, or characteristic attribute.
Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair and just. Hear now, O house of Israel: Is not My way fair and just? Are not your ways unfair and unjust? (Ezekiel 18:25)
Our loving Father does not seek to saddle us for life with practices that are struggles. He seeks for us to practice His ways that they may be transformed from compulsory to inherent. The key to this isn’t six weeks. The key isn’t great discipline. The key is Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law because it is through coming to know Him, to truly be in relation with Him that God’s rule changes us, changes our hearts, and begins the holiness project within each of us. I witness this for myself in looking back over my Lenten practices. What I thought I was “doing” for God, was in fact allowing God to do something in me. While Lent is a finite season within the Church’s calendar, our call to holiness is an infinite season of “practice makes perfect”, of the compulsory becoming inherent.
