Lent's invitation to live and move and have our (enfleshed) being

embodiment, Cole Arthur Riley, and a whole lot of footnotes.

On Monday evening, I had the absolute privilege of hearing Cole Arthur Riley¹ speak in the chapel of Huston-Tillotson University.² Her talk on Dignity and The Body has sparked my imagination in new ways as I approach Lent. Next week, many of us will observe Ash Wednesday and begin our Lenten journey toward the celebration of new life on Easter Sunday.

One of my readings for the virtual mini-retreat I’m leading later tonight and tomorrow afternoon³ comes from Riley’s book Black Liturgies.⁴ Cole writes these words about the imposition of ashes: What does it mean that we don’t just talk about the ashes, or even reverently observe them, but that we physically smear them across our faces? … And that this comes on the body, I think, reminds us that the Lenten journey of self examination is deeply entwined with the physical world.

In the coming months, I’ll be studying biblical Greek, reading for a historical understanding of the New Testament, and making my way through books on the why of Sunday worship⁵. I’ll be deeply considering the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as I write sermons and essays and sit with many of you in spiritual direction. So as I consider personal practices for Lent I keep coming back to these words Riley offered on Monday … our task is to remain, to stay in our bodies.

This invitation leads me to consider an embodied Lent. I know this word gets tossed around a lot, but I think it’s for a good reason. For me, I’m so stuck in my head that I need the reminder that I’m also a body. I am embodied. Sometimes it seems, as Cole quoted,⁶ that it’s “outside of the bounds of [my] imagination that [my] soul might be enfleshed.”

This Lent, alongside the question of What is mine to do? I’m considering how do I live and move and have my being?⁷ I’m asking, how will I remain in my body? I’m wondering in what ways can I remind myself that self-examination is deeply entwined with the physical world?

I suppose this could mean it’s time to pull out my roller skates⁸ and wind my way around a few labyrinths⁹, but I’m looking for something else too. I’m not sure exactly what it is yet, but maybe that’s the invitation? Maybe the Lenten journey is less about fasting and more about savoring every bite. Maybe this year we let Lent teach us how to remain in our bodies as we live and move and have our being.

I’m looking forward to continuing to ask these questions in the coming weeks, I hope you’ll join me -

Holly

P.S. It’s not too late to join me tonight or tomorrow afternoon for my virtual mini-retreat: Preparing for Renewal. My hope is that it will be a spacious time to prayerfully consider how you would like to enter the season of Lent. Join me tonight, February 27th (730-9pm CT) or tomorrow, February 28th (12:30-2 pm CT). The cost is $15, but if cost is a barrier, please respond directly to this email for a $10 off code.

A few (embodied) ideas for Lent:

• My friend, spiritual director, and yoga instructor Elizabeth Peterson has a Lenten Yoga Bundle coming up!

• I’m only just learning about Kendall Vanderslice and her work, but she showed up in my Substack notes while writing and I think a Lent Sourdough Community sounds like it could be a great way to remain in your body. I also snatched a copy of her book Bake and Pray!

• Every year I order a few cups of caterpillars and watch the cycle of new life with my kids as the caterpillars transform into butterflies! I’ve found this practice to be a beautiful way to open up the idea of new life and resurrection during Lent and Easter. I recommend this starter kit.

1. Cole Arthur Riley

2. Huston-Tillotson University is celebration 150 years of education which makes it the oldest institution of higher education in Austin, TX.

3. Register Here!

4. I absolutely loved Riley’s book This Here Flesh and am currently reading through Black Liturgies.

5. I’m referencing 3 of my 4 classes for the semester: Introduction to Elementary Biblical Greek, The Church as a Worshipping Community, and Introduction to the New Testament.

6. I wrote this down, and remembered she said it was from a book but I’m struggling to find the reference! If you know, please share.

7. Acts 17:28 NRSVUE — ‘in him we live and move and have our being’

8. I apparently write about roller skating a lot — here, here and here! lol.

9. Some thoughts on spiritual practices.