The first chapter of Mariann Budde’s book, “Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love” describes the practice of Turning. Budde begins her chapter by saying, “when someone calls us, we turn our gaze.” And in the spiritual practice of prayer, turning our gaze means turning away from the things that have been absorbing our attention and turning toward God. And when we turn, we find God always waiting for us…as she quotes former Archbishop Rowan Williams, “God is more interested in us than we are in God.” God is always faithful, always loving, and always waiting for us to turn our attention toward developing a deep and intimate relationship with the divine presence of God.

Bishop Budde takes quite a bit of time telling her story of turning toward God, in Christ; and makes the point several times that turning is a practice, not a “one time event.” She shares some poignant and vulnerable moments in her younger years to express her well earned understanding that God is always inviting us / calling us / pulling us into the next “phase” of our journey in life with God and with others…even when we can’t or don’t appreciate that movement in the moment. She writes that her own experience shows “how turning toward Jesus isn’t something we do once and are done with, rather, turning is part of our journey through life that changes and grows as we change and grow.” I think she is exactly right in this belief, and also right in the fact that sometimes we do get lost in the journey and wander away, but God is always there, waiting for us to return. Which leads to her next point.

Our journey of turning and discovery leads us to a very personal connection with God, which prepares the ground for future spiritual growth. Budde says it this way: “For faith to be authentic, it must be freely chosen, not out of fear or coercion, but in response to compelling love.” And of course, God is love, so there is truly no better source of compelling love to turn to. The idea of a discovery of one’s authentic faith leads to the final point I will make here: the idea of spending time putting your life’s journey down on paper. At first thought, this idea may seem to be an extravagant use of time for something “you already know all about”…after all…it’s the life you’ve already lived and know best, right? But I encourage you to give it a try! If you even jot down a few bullets of highlights for different periods in your life, with some extra time focused on those precious few memorable moments or profound experiences that changed your life’s direction, I think you will find the experiment worth the effort. I agree with Bishop Budde when she writes, “consider the larger narrative of your life – you will likely discover many connected spiritual encounters from your biography.” I think you might appreciate some of the important events in your life from a new perspective, once you have seen them in the context of the broader narrative. Do a little bit every day, so by Holy Week, you are prepared to reflect on your finished story.

In closing, I would like to remind you of one piece of advice from Bishop Budde: “Even a small effort of turning our gaze toward Jesus, when practiced daily, has the effect of opening our hearts and minds to receive him.” May you have a blessed Lent, and may you TURN your gaze toward God.