Friday, March 6

Psalm 78:1-31 and Romans 4:1-8

The Daily Practice of Christian Living
Jerral Miles

“Cultivate depth and sacredness in everyday life” is the advice Thomas Moore offers in the subtitle of his book Care of the Soul. The emphasis is on “everyday life.”

Many Christians who say they want to be more Christ-like are very much like overweight people who say they want to be thin. They consciously practice their Christianity sporadically during the special seasons of the church calendar the way some people who wish they could be thinner go from one diet plan to another.

Those who annually give up something they especially like during the season of Lent are doing wishful but not very serious thinking about making long-term changes in their lives. On again, off again dieters rarely change themselves into the people they wish they could be.

Lent is supposed to be a season of preparation for the commemoration of Holy Week, the time when the Church celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally the Church has encouraged self-denial, penitence, and almsgiving during the season of Lent. A case can be made for exercising restraint when faced with opportunities for indulgence, for regret or even remorse over past wrongful behaviors, and for giving money to the poor. However, those occasional responses to our inner life and to life that goes on around us are not likely to result in very much long-term good for anybody.

Jesus said: “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). It takes more than occasionally giving up chocolates or our favorite drink to promote abundant life in ourselves and in others. We must cultivate “depth and sacredness” in our everyday living.

Tending to the soul is not a seasonal activity, but the forty days of Lent in the church calendar can be a good time to rededicate ourselves to the daily practice of Christian living.

Jerral is a Retired headmaster of the Francis Parker School, San Diego; The Darrow School, New Lebanon, New York; The Potomac School, McLean, Virginia (Washington, D.C.). After retirement he taught English and History at Gompers Secondary School in the San Diego Unified School District. He came to First Church from the First Presbyterian Church, San Diego, because the Methodist Church was more inclusive. He enjoys singing bass in the Chancel Choir and is a member of The Heart of Christianity discussion group. He also enjoys photography, writing (fiction, non-fiction, and poetry), and has a BLOG (www.jerralmiles.blogspot.com).