One Thing . . .

The Danish theologian and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once wrote, “Purity of heart is to will one thing.” In his 1846 book which takes this phrase as its title, Kierkegaard pondered and probed what ought to be the Christian’s “spiritual preparation” for gathering with others to worship God. But more specifically, and more fundamentally, his exhortation was about how we ought to think about, plan for, and expect to be in the presence of God – not just in formal occasions such as confession or church attendance, but in our lives both in the everyday and with a view toward Eternity. What are the forms and sources of double-mindedness in our lives that we too often overlook? What are the barriers, fears, and distractions that divert our attention away from God’s calling and intentions for our lives, both temporal and eternal? And how might our hearts become increasingly single-focused, such that we can, in purity of heart, “will only one thing:” God’s kingdom?

I’m reminded of this exhortation, “to will one thing,” in this second week of Lent, as in our Lenten journey we more mindfully seek to follow Jesus’ pattern of living and walking, that we might be more conformed to His image, His actions, His thoughts. On this Sunday in Lent, the traditional focus of the church is on the call to deny sin and the power of evil and darkness in our lives. That requires, as Lenten discipline would have it, a decreased attention to the desires of the self: God calls us to turn from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness, so that we may say with David, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, this one thing I will seek …” The Amplified Bible renders this verse in this way: “One thing I have asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and delightful loveliness] of the LORD and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple."

In the Old Testament and epistle readings for Lent 2C, we find two other examples of a similar desire for “one thing.” For Abram, his immediate concern was his legacy, his posterity, but he mainly longed for the fulfillments of God’s covenant promises to him and his descendants. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we read his exhortation that since our citizenship is in heaven, we therefore ought to imitate the examples we have in Christ and in those who faithfully follow Him in view of His powerful promise of eternal life. In the verses just before this lectionary reading, recounting his own life and testimony, Paul declares that all things that seemed to provide gain for him in his prior life—before he knew Christ—he now counts as loss, less than useless. Now, he says, “This one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13-14)

And where do we see the desire for “one thing” when we look at Christ? Everywhere, certainly. But the gospel readings here give us timely insight not only for our Lenten journey but throughout our walk with Him. In Luke 13, Jesus has been going from one city and village to another, teaching and healing, “proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.” Some Pharisees come to Him to say, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill You!” (Are they really concerned, or do they just want to distract and detour Him?) Jesus’ answer is a determined one: “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ Nevertheless, I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day, for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.”

This episode took place during the last six months or so of Jesus’ earthly ministry, not long after His Transfiguration. Luke narrates it this way in chapter 9: Jesus took Peter, James, and John with Him up on the mountain to pray. While there, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothing became dazzling white. Appearing there with Him in glory were Moses and Elijah, speaking with Him and encouraging Him about the departure—literally, the exodus—He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. At the end of the encounter, the disciples heard God's voice from within the cloud, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him!” As we read further in the chapter—through more healings, deliverances, teaching, and Jesus’ urgent word to His disciples that “the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men”—we come to verse 51: “When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” His “taking up” is a beautiful, and poignant, picture of the goal to which Jesus steadfastly pressed on: His crucifixion and death, and after that His resurrection in victory and His ascension in glory to take His place at the right hand of the Father.

How would you give voice to and describe the one thing you ask of the Lord and seek after? What is the Lord calling you to this Lenten season? Has He asked you to put something off, give something up for Lent, so that there might be more room for Him and His ways? Has He asked you to take on a discipline of prayer, or service, or study and reading, or perhaps solitude and quiet? Has He asked you to meditate more on His presence—what that means in your life, and how you might grow closer to Him and more like Him? What is the “one thing” God is calling you to in this journey of Lent?

A thought about worship from the Ancient Fathers – 
“I am only intent on ‘one thing’ says Paul, ‘in stretching forward to the things which are before.’ But included in this ‘one thing’ he says, is ‘forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.’ Forgetting the past things made him reach forward to the things ahead. So then, any who think they have accomplished it all and need no further perfecting can stop running. They have reached their goal. But those who think they are still far from the goal will never stop running. You should think like the latter, even if you perform ten thousand good deeds. For if Paul thought thus, after ten thousand deaths and so many dangers, how much more should we? . . . We should act like him, forget our successes, and throw them behind us. For runners don't think about how many laps they have finished, but how many are left. We, too, should think not about how we are advanced in holiness, but about how much farther we have to go. For how do we profit from what we have when we don't add what we lack? In addition, Paul didn't say, ‘I don't think about,’ but ‘I don't even remember.’ For we become eager when we diligently work toward what is left, when we forget everything else."
          -- John Chrysostom (c.347 – 407)
              Archbishop of Constantinople
 

     Revised Common Lectionary, Lent 2C:
        Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18
        Psalm 27
        Philippians 3:17 - 4:1
        Luke 9:28-43a

Note: If you are reading this post during the season of Lent, Year C, you can find a sample liturgy for Lent 2C in the Liturgy Folio.)

Image credit: Consecration Cross, Church of All Saints (Norfolk, England), 1301. Wikimedia Commons.

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