Ash Wednesday – Lent Cycle C

Reflecting on 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

On this cold, cloudy day―a perfect day for ashes, and meditation, and starting over again―I remember the day I learned how to be, as Paul begs us, “an ambassador of reconciliation”.  I had been parking my car on the street, right outside the house that sat next door to the busy parish center where I worked.  For ten years the middle-aged man who lived in the house had pleasantly smiled and waved at me as I walked from my car into work.

That’s why I was so shocked on the day when, out of the blue, he left me a profane, furious note on my car, threatening

Ambassadors of Reconciliation

me with violence if I ever parked in front of his house again.  I was mortified, embarrassed, deeply hurt and a little bit afraid.  I spent several hours plotting my revenge, imagining sending his note to the police, never smiling at him again as I parked six blocks away to avoid him.

And then…all of a sudden I could see what he had seen all along.  I was parking in front of his house!  For ten years!  Without ever asking if he needed that spot, or thanking him for so kindly letting me take over his space.  And so I tried something I had never, ever done before.  I made the first move to get us back on track.  I reached out instead of waiting for him.

I made brownies and attached a note, apologizing for my years of inconsiderate behavior.  I was terribly nervous, but I parked several houses away and walked up his sidewalk.  And when he answered the door the whole story opened up in front of me.  This nice man who had looked the other way for ten years was standing in front of me in a full body cast.  He had been in a bad car accident the week before, and my car was impeding his ability to get into his house.  I looked at him, and he looked at me, and we both cried, “I’m sorry.”

All it took was the grace to yield, to not fight back, to see the world as someone else sees it.  My Lenten fast has been the same since that day: I will pursue the spiritual discipline of not having to be right, but really, really looking at traffic, and the workplace, and home, from the position of the other people who share the world with me.

That’s what makes Lent so rich.  It’s the blessed opportunity to yield.

Sharing God’s Word at Home:

How are you an ambassador of reconciliation?

Lent - Cycle C