The first vehicle Sandy drove with a manual transmission was a 65 foot long, 18-wheeler that weighed almost 20 tons when it was empty.  The transmission had 10 speeds forward and two in reverse. 

She was the only person in our truck-driving class with no previous experience with a manual shift.  When the instructor heard this he said, “At least one of you will learn how to shift the right way.”  He went on to explain that the rest of us had a lot to un-learn before we could learn how to shift a truck.  He was right.  Double-clutching and matching road speed to gear selection is not the same as working your way through the gears on a modern synchro-mesh transmission. 

In addition to the frustration of unlearning an ingrained practice, those of us who already “knew all about shifting gears” also had to deal with the embarrassment of grinding gears and feeling utterly incompetent.   The transmission in our student truck took a beating and so did our pride.  Sandy, on the other hand, was ‘grabbing gears’ like a pro in no time.

Sandy had the advantage of what Buddhists call “the beginner’s mind.”  Beginners have openness to experience. They haven’t made their minds up about everything in advance.  They know that they don’t know and so they are ready to learn.  They don’t resist instruction.  They have a certain humility about their relative lack of competency.

Lent originated as a season in which adult converts to the Christian faith were prepared for baptism.  They spent time in prayer.  They were instructed in the basic outlines of scripture, the creeds, the prayers, the mystery of becoming one with the Body of Christ.  Initially, these catechumens (learners) were the only ones who did anything special in the season before Easter. 

Eventually though, all the members of the church were urged to use the Lenten season to also devote themselves to prayer and to contemplate anew the meaning of their faith.   They were invited to approach the life of faith with a beginner’s mind, to come to fresh awareness of God’s grace and to make fresh commitments to following Christ.

Giving up sweets or wine or some other indulgence, doesn’t really touch at the heart of the season.  This Lent, strive to give up mindless familiarity with your faith.  Take the time to hear the scriptures again as though for the first time.  Let yourself experience the strangeness and wonder of the familiar prayers that we so casually offer. 

Prayer:  Holy One, let me hear the good news again so I can hear the “new” part.  Amen.