What was the first thing God said was not good? Remember, in the first chapter of Genesis? God created all kinds of things and said they were good. Check out Genesis 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone."

not good for the man to be alone. NOT GOOD FOR THE MAN TO BE ALONE. NOT GOOD FOR THE MAN TO BE ALONE.

I was listening to Rob Bell's sermon at Mars Hill today, from Sunday. He said that one of the purposes of Lent is for us to experience togetherness. The supreme experience of togetherness is the mystical union with Christ. I don't know about y'all, I don't think "mystical" has a very positive connotation these days. I'd venture to guess that most people either think of some type of new age philosophy or the "heretics" of the middle age cloisters who sought union with Christ through extensive fasting eating only the oldest and darkest of the left over bread, which caused "visions" of holiness, which we may now attribute to the same type of hallucinations as our Salem witches.

Mystical: 1 a : having a spiritual meaning or reality that is neither apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence *the mystical food of the sacrament* b : involving or having the nature of an individual's direct subjective communion with God or ultimate reality *the mystical experience of the Inner Light*2 : MYSTERIOUS, UNINTELLIGIBLE

Let me elaborate. Bell argued that by joining in the temptation of Christ we are joining in union with him. By suffering with him, we are uniting with him. By "killing" parts of us, we are uniting with him. In suffering, temptation, and crucifixion, we join with Christ. What makes it mystical? If you follow me, do what I do, and don't do what I don't do, you become like me, but it does not make us any better friends. I have not entered into your soul and you have not entered into mine. Nothing occurs that is beyond reason, sense, or intellect. However, when we join in the suffering of Christ we somehow become closer to him. We gain a better understanding of his will. He becomes a greater and stronger force in us. That is the mystery, the mystical aspect of it.

I think this explains a couple things. Lent has not been easy for me. First of all, I chose to give up something which makes me feel better just by sucking up electricity, my TV. On a day when all I want is a little distraction, the TV is a beautiful thing. It's constant company. Secondly, as with any journey into the wilderness, there will be all sorts of distractions. These may include but are not limited to, personal drama, missing your family intensely, feeling useless, drama at work, and/or health issues.

I've found myself in a very inactive mood. Nearly passive really. I'm just not interested. My students bounce off the wall? I sit behind my desk and think about sleeping until they realize I'm waiting for them. Should I plan a lesson? What's the point, there's no way for me to gauge if they'll participate today. Should I eat today? Nah, it's too much work, I'll just have a biscuit and eat tomorrow. Should I wash clothes today? Nah, I'll just air these socks out. I have a couple more pairs of underwear clean. I know this is unhealthy. Maybe it's like I said yesterday. Maybe I've begun shutting off pieces of myself as a coping mechanism. I think part of it is this: I don't handle chaos very well, and when chaos seems to rule, I go limp. I don't fight the chaos, I don't move with it. I just lie still and wait for it to pass, hoping I don't get crushed by it. Maybe that's the deal.