#23 - Embracing the Silence: A Mid-Lenten Check-In {Reflections}

What is up everybody?

My name is Ryan Braley.

Welcome to our Reflections podcast with.

When this episode airs, it'll probably be somewhere in the middle of length.

Length is, as you may know, this 40 day journey going into Easter.

So it's Easter and the previous 40 days and it kind of mirrors the 40 days of Jesus and the wilderness, so a time of trial and testing.

The number 40 is pretty ubiquitous in the scriptures too, and in Israel's story they were in the wandering years in the desert for 40 years, and so this 40 is like a symbol of trial and testing, in which God begins to sort of slow things down and people see what's deep within them, because times of trials and testing often reveal what's going on deep beneath the surface.

So if you ever want to see what a person is really like, have them be in a time of trial or testing.

You know, like I mean, it's easy to love your neighbor when times are good.

When times are tough, the real person comes out.

So, anyway, if you're getting married, by the way, or if you're dating someone, just wait until times get stressful to see what they're really all about.

That's kind of a helpful hint, and I wasn't planning on saying that, mike, that's a free one though.

There you go, so write that down.

But hey, I did want to do a kind of a check in, a Lenton check in, a mid Lent check in.

The.

One of the things I love most about Lent is Lent is really a time for us to listen, just to slow down, to stop the talking here I am talking but and to listen.

There's this great story I love about this Buddhist man who's the neighbor is with a Christian and the Christian one day invites the Buddhist man to his church on Sunday morning and the Buddhist is like, yeah, I'd love to go.

So he graciously accepts.

They go to church together that morning.

On the way home, the Christian man asks the Buddhist hey, what'd you think about that, what was it like?

And the Buddhist is like man, I really liked it.

I just have one question how do any of you ever hear from God with all the talking you do and I love that because, man, it's, let's be honest, sunday mornings, or even much of our lives, is filled us talking, and if we're talking with God, it's not so much talking with God as it is us talking to God or talking at God or just asking things of God.

But what would it be like for us to slow down, to close our mouths, to sit and even to listen to God?

And that's kind of a lent is.

And so lent is a time to ask like, okay, god, what do you want to say to me, what do you want to share with me?

Or maybe I'm just gonna sit here and listen and see what comes up.

So here's my question to you then, midway through lent or wherever we are, how's it going?

No-transcript, what perhaps has God been saying to you?

And I'm not trying to make it super romantic or spiritual.

Perhaps the answer is I have no idea, ryan.

Great, that's okay.

These things often take time and, hearing from the divine, it's hard to kind of put into a formula or even to know sometimes.

But I wanna at least ask the question like what do you think God is doing?

And also, I would say, part of that is like asking you what are you sensing?

How's the journey been for you so far?

How do you feel physically, maybe mentally or emotionally?

Have you been fasting something and how's that been going?

Do you feel good about it or not so good?

Have you been quote unquote like successful at keeping you fast or have you given in already?

Maybe you gave in and started back over, but I'd love to hear that and I'd love to then just encourage you to keep going.

If you struggle or if you've kind of fallen off and gotten back on, that's okay too.

It's part of the journey of fasting sometimes.

But there's this ancient sort of alchemical phrase, like the alchemist would say, this old phrase and saying it's in Latin, it's insterquillineous inventor, which in the English just means in the filth it will be found.

And they believed and I think it's true to us today that many times in the struggle there's well, they were talking about chemicals and elements and that kind of thing but for us it's this idea that hey, look, in the struggle, in the difficulties and the shadow of life, many times we can find something beautiful and wonderful and redemptive in there.

And so fasting is like one of those things.

It's really hard, it's difficult to kind of train the body to go without certain things.

Maybe you're fasting food or you're fasting screen time on your phone or you're fasting Like.

For me, one of the things I love to fast is in the car.

I often will have music playing or a podcast going or an audible book and I just I don't like having quiet, but it's because it's a struggle for me, if I'm honest.

So during Lent I try to like not have music going in the car and just sit in the quiet and to think which, for me, I got to love all these stimulation.

It's like it's really hard for me, but I believe in that is there's.

I mean, I've had lots of incredible moments over the years where I'm in the car just in the quiet and I can slow down and I can think.

And so what are you finding?

I wanna ask.

So email me or text me, or may I don't even respond on your podcast there, but let me know how it's going for you and remember that fasting is not a work.

We're not trying to find ways to climb the ladder to reach God or you're not earning God's favor in any sense at all.

God already loves you.

Rather, you're quieting the voices down and the chaos and you're slowing down your own pace of life to minimize as best we can distractions, to listen for the still and small whisper of God.

And the thing is the body might revolt.

I mean, I think the body doesn't like to have it sort of self tamed in these ways, like we've become addicted to the noise I have anyway and the chaos and the stimulation and the go, go, go and sort of slow down and to fast, or, as Paul the apostle writes to the Corinthians, to beat my body and make my body a slave to what I want it to do.

That's tough and the body might revolt.

That's okay, keep going, because, like brother Lawrence said, people would be surprised if they knew what the soul said to God sometimes.

I love that Brother Lawrence said this.

He said people would be surprised if they knew what the soul said to God sometimes.

And then the problem is we just often don't slow down long enough or quiet ourselves enough to listen for what our own soul is saying to God or what God is saying to us.

So, brothers and sisters, keep going.

Let me know how it's going.

Or maybe you wanna just pick up something from this point on until Easter and just carve out some time and space to listen for God.

All right, let me know.

Love you guys, peace.

Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends.

And don't forget you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our local gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clclkriverorg Peace.