Group of First Cong Church members at a rally outside the NOAA building

A Time for Intention

By Amy Ostwald

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. (NRSV) Luke 9:51

As the time came nearer for Jesus to be taken up, he settled it in his mind to go to Jerusalem. (New Testament for Everyone) Luke 9:51

“How will you align intentions with your actions?” Mindy Sharp asks us in Everything in Between, A Lenten Devotional Guide. “Not easily,” is my answer to her.

I confess that I am easily distracted; I allow all sorts of things to capture my attention and then I pounce on them with spontaneous energy – much like a dog in a yard with lots of squirrels. This means that I end up tending to the tasks that are right in front of me while letting other more meaningful things drop. Unfortunately, faithful actions for social justice can get lost or never make it to my calendar.

I also confess that I have a ready list of excuses for putting aside tasks that don’t seem to be immediately pressing: I am tired, I’ve got a busy day, I am hungry, it’s beautiful outdoors and I need to get out, I have phone calls to make, I need to check my email, I don’t have the energy to research what actions to take…

Today, with another barrage of very disturbing news articles before me, I am painfully aware that it is time for me to embrace a “Practice of Intention”– and the season of Lent seems to be extending an invitation to do just that. I have been struck by an image found in Luke 9:51, where Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” or in another translation “he settled his mind to go to Jerusalem.” This is a defining intention-setting moment for him: Jerusalem is where Jesus speaks Truth to the authorities.

I want to settle my own wandering mind, I want to turn my own face to those who hold positions of power in our country, and I want to boldly speak out from the heart of faith… So I wonder, in the days ahead, if I might draw inspiration from holding this image of Jesus close to my heart. I will try this.

I will also try this: I will set aside a moment for prayerful Intention Practice on Mondays, right after dinner, so I will not be hungry and I will have fewer distractions and excuses. My goal will be to schedule one action item each week. I will begin by reviewing ideas for action, first checking my email from the FCC Coalition of Social Justice Ministries to view their weekly action suggestions. Is there a demonstration coming up? A phone call I can make? A letter I can write? I will then schedule an action on my calendar– along with an alert notification so I won’t miss it.

Perhaps there is hope for those of us who chase squirrels.

PRAYER

O God, help me settle my mind. I turn again to the life of Jesus and pray that I might find a measure of the same loving focus and resolve. Guide me as I set my face toward an action for justice and peace.  AMEN