By Kate Noonan
Each Lenten season my thoughts turn to Jesus’ time in the desert where he prayed and fasted for 40 days. How could it be that Jesus, even Jesus, found it necessary to go pray and commune in silence with his Father? Perhaps the human essence of Jesus needed a respite from the world around him. I do not pretend to understand Jesus’ mindset as he prepared for his upcoming sacrifice fulfilling the prophecy and triumphing over death. Lent is the perfect reminder that if Jesus needed to leave noise of the world and spend time with God you can be assured I need to pray and get silent as well.
I am not a woman of few words, internally or externally. My mind is busy planning, worrying and overthinking. These mental gymnastics don’t always lead me to a solution although oftentimes they do lead me to exhaustion. More often then I care to admit I can’t get out of my own way: thinking I’ve got this, I can figure it out. The ‘it’, the issue to manage is ever changing and simultaneously omnipresent. In this scenario there is no space for God. I have full confidence I am running the show. My self sufficient thinking is the very thing that keeps me separate from God.
As the leader of a Women’s Group which meets monthly at the Second Congregational Church thanks to Jenny Byxbee, the minister of Care and Connection at the Second Congregational Church, I find I am not alone in my proclivity to run the show or perseverate. Our gathering provides a space to meet, discuss and discern our relationship with the Divine. During our sessions we discuss and do exercises which help each of us understand the ways we truncate our relationship with God. We open up and begin releasing the behavior: our language, habits and attitudes that keep us from God. Once we have deconstructed and begin to find what blocks us from God, we spend time in silence and prayer. Together we open a space to convene with the divine dismissing the role’ and the ‘shoulds’ which drive our self sufficiency.
This past Sunday my college aged daughter attended a Quaker Friends Meeting. She has always shown an interest in the Quakers and when an assignment required her to attend a service of a different faith she jumped at the opportunity. She sent me a screenshot of the pamphlet in the pew for those attending their first Friends Meeting, saying “Maybe this can help your writing today.” Wow, was she right, the guiding principles in the service are just what I am writing about.
The first part of the Quaker service suggests settling into a listening silence rather than trying to address God with thoughts and cares swirling through our hearts and minds. The next portion is the time to Center Down in Silence where the congregants are called to release thoughts, worries or concerns intentionally opening up to God’s voice. Wait Upon the Lord, the next suggestion is a call to listen for God’s voice in our heart, with a focus on God rather than yourself and find how you are directed to worship during the service.
These themes align beautifully with our discussions at the Second Congregational Church. They also may echo Jesus’ sentiments as he prepared for his final days as our Savior in the desert. Most certainly these are wonderful directives to use on my Lenten journey. I am called to pray, center down in silence and wait upon the Lord. Let’s share these themes as we conclude our Lenten season.
For more information about the Women’s Groups at Second Congregational Church please reach out to Jenny Byxbee – jenny@2cc.org.
Kate Noonan, Pastoral Associate St. Ignatius Loyola NYC
Spiritual Life Coach Greenwich, CT
Chaplain, MAR Yale Divinity School
