My son Liam, who is not quite two and a half years old yet, is learning to speak English at a rate that I find quite surprising. For the past few days he has thoroughly enjoyed climbing up on the couch cushions so that he can look out the window in our living room. Once settled on his perch, he exclaims: "Look at my up here!". "Look at me up here," I say. "Look at meee up here!" he repeats. He's using the correct word, but not the correct form of the word. Likewise, he will often march into the living room and announce: "I take me shoes off!" His statement is not technically true since he is wearing his shoes. What he really means is that he wants to take them off. Again, he has the right word, but he isn't using the correct form of the verb. Still he's getting better day by day, and as a father, I think it's a thrilling thing to be a part of.
I am trying to learn Spanish this Lent (or more correctly, to begin learning Spanish). I know Latin, Greek and Hebrew, which are all very convenient when working as a parish priest, but I've discovered that knowing Spanish, especially in New York City, would be helpful. Simply for the sake of further-reaching pastoral care, outreach and evangelism, I believe it would be a very useful thing for any parish priest to know. So far, I'm sort of the opposite of Liam in my new linguistic skills: I know the correct forms, but I can't seem to remember many of the correct words. Its fun, but frustrating: I want to learn the language now. I should remember that Liam will spend years learning English; in fact, he's spent the last six months building up a vocabulary that consists almost entirely of words related to clothing, food, numbers and colors. At this point I would be happy simply to be able to say the Spanish equivalent to "Look at my up here!" from the pulpit.
Reflecting on the time that it takes to really learn something leads me to Lent and Holy Week. This is my fifth Lent at Saint Mary's, and it will be my sixth Holy Week (my first year I was in Seminary during Lent and assisted at the parish throughout Holy Week as Deacon). The details and forms of the Lenten worship life at Saint Mary's continue to sink in, I continue to learn new things, but I note that this year I feel far more comfortable with the language of Lenten worship here than I ever have before. The last few years I had been tripped up by the minor liturgical changes that Lent brings, and I'd been caught of guard by the simplicity of the season. So far, not this year. So far Lent is Lent, not a new season that brings complications for my life as the Curate for Liturgy, not a sudden change of gear, but a daily progression toward Holy Week and Easter that flowed right out of Christmas and has gotten serious. I noticed for the first time this year that the hymns on the last Sunday after Pentecost feature tunes that are more familiarly from Holy Week and Easter. I'm seeing clearly the link between the Scriptural texts that are read throughout Lent and those read during Holy Week and Easter. I believe that this clarity is the result, not simply of learning Lent and Holy Week at Saint Mary's, but living it. In a sense, it's like that moment - a moment I can only envy that others have had - when one becomes so familiar with another language that one actually starts thinking or dreaming in it. I'm no longer thinking about what Lent is, I am just enjoying living each Lenten day and feeling the progress toward Easter.
At some point Liam began to think in English. I don't know when that happened, I can only hope that I am able one day to feel what it is like to think in another language. But when that happens, my learning will not be complete, it will probably feel like a fresh beginning all over again! I feel sort of like I have finally begun to think in the language of Lent, and I am looking forward to where this will lead me as I continue to live, breathe, think, and even dream about the love of God in Christ that can be experienced so gloriously in the church. Living out the liturgical life of the church year is possible at Saint Mary's - that cannot be said of every church, which I think is very sad. This Lent, I encourage and invite you to walk through the doors of this church as many times as you are able. It'll make a huge difference when you walk through the doors here on Palm Sunday. You'll know more of the grammar and vocabulary that the church has used for two thousand years to proclaim the triumph of the cross and the joy of the resurrection. Matthew Mead
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