God - the Ulitmate Energy Source
Sometimes we think of God as a “mighty fortress” or a “rock” or “Father” or “Mother,” but God as “energy” can also be a helpful metaphor for understanding God. St. Paul, for example, in his Letter to the Romans referred to the gospel as the “power for salvation,” a power Paul had personally experienced in the risen Christ. “Dynamis,” the Greek word used by Paul as “power” comes from the same root as the word for “dynamite” or “dynamic.”
At one of my first meetings with parishioners of St. Mark’s, we talked about our future, and about midway in our discussion, one parishioner spoke up and said that we needed a leader with energy. I replied that “I couldn’t agree more, we do need leaders with energy, but added that likewise “we also need parishioners with energy. And furthermore, the kind of energy that we need comes from God, and can be experienced by each of us as we draw near to Christ.”
Lent is traditionally a time for repentance, prayer, fasting and giving alms to the poor, and each of these is very important. But Lent can also be a time to “recharge” our lives with the energy that only God can give. Jesus himself, several times in his ministry, was low on energy and would often withdraw for times of quiet, especially for times of quiet with his Father. And typically he emerged from such times renewed and ready to do the work he had been given to do-healing, caring, feeding, preaching and so much more. This Lent, may we follow the LORD’s example and also withdraw for times of quiet with God, knowing that God is, indeed, the ultimate energy source.