Redirection

Recently, when I went to hear the Milwaukee Symphony, I found the seating arrangement for the orchestra was all new. Before the concert started, the conductor explained that after trying several plans, the new arrangement was done to 1.) create better sound for the audience, 2.) allow the audience to hear different sections of the orchestra better, and 3.) allow members of the orchestra to hear each other. All of the changes were meant to improve the quality of the orchestra’s performance. It worked!

We are now in the season of Lent in the calendar of our church year. It is a season for us to reflect upon ourselves and our relationship with God. It is a season to make changes in our lives perhaps as a result of reflection. It is also a time when we give up, be it food or a bad habit, for 40 days. The “giving up” part is probably what most of us are most aware of.

As a kid, I always gave up candy. Why? Because that’s what kids gave up even if it wasn’t really a sacrifice. I would dutifully put what I might have spent in my mite box being sure it was suitably full when turned in at Easter! That became more difficult when I learned from my neighborhood buddy who came from a devout roman Catholic family, that Sundays were free days so my candy penance did not apply. So, of course, I hit the candy store across the street from church on Sunday!

The way the words “give up” can be a roadblock. They sound so definite. They don’t allow for wavering. They don’t allow for a period of adjustment.

I shudder to think of the number of times I said, “I’ve got to give up smoking.” The thought of having no room for failure made action on those words seem impossible and gave rise to enough excuses to foreclose actions.

We all have at some time or other realized that we needed to change our eating habits. Diets always had items we had to give up. Again it became easy to let “give up” become a roadblock.

Perhaps, then, as with Lenten discipline and every day living disciplines, we need to think in terms of redirection, not “giving up.”

A starting point may be to redirect where we put our emphasis during Lent: away from symbolic “giving up” to a time of reflections upon our relationship with God and Jesus Christ in our lives. And, based on these reflections, how can I redirect my life to strengthen that relationship.

Redirection can take many forms. For example, we may look at our priorities in our life. Do we need to redirect our lives away from self towards God? Do we need to consider where we put our emphasis in daily living as between the material and spiritual? Do we need to redirect our feelings towards others from tolerance to acceptance? Do we need to redirect ourselves from passive believers to activist believers?

We may want to reflect on our living habits and how we can redirect them towards a healthier lifestyle. Diets, for example, are less give up, give up, give up and more eating healthy and measuring quantities and including some of the “no nos” in limited ways.

We all throughout lives have intentionally or by osmosis from those around us adopted attitudes. Perhaps, here too, we may want to reflect upon and redirect these attitudes, I.e. towards race, towards sexuality, towards homelessness, towards those who disagree with us. Upon reflection, we should begin to really realize how contrary these attitudes may be to what we profess to believe Jesus taught and stood for and still stands for.

The conductor of the symphony changed the seating of the players. In doing so, he redirected the sound to benefit his audience. He placed the orchestra’s sections in a better position so all would be heard by the audience. By his redirection, he allowed the players to bond into a better orchestra because they could hear each other better and create a cohesive sound.

Instead of symbolic “giving up”, perhaps we can rearrange our lives with reflective redirection this Lent that will continue as a part of our lives beyond 40 days and without “free Sundays” to run to the candy store.

Deacon Ned Howe