First Sunday of Lent — Mise En Place
In classic French cooking mise en place is a term referring to the prep work that occurs before the cooking actually begins. The recipe is read, ingredients are measured, vegetables are chopped, pans and utensils are secured, and everything is arranged to ensure that, once the fires are lit, the dish may be prepared with a minimum of fuss.
As I discussed in my Ash Wednesday post, reflection and repentance are the central activities of Lent. , We follow Jesus into the wilderness, taking the time to unearth our “rebellion” against God. We look into ourselves, fasting and praying that God will reveal to us those beliefs, habits, desires, and stances that retard the coming of the kingdom of God.
But how does this repentance work? In our pandemic stricken, yet still fast paced (Western) world, how can we know what we must repent of? And once we find out (if we ever listen closely enough to find out), how do we do the work that repentance requires? The answers to both of these questions begin with prep work, with mise en place.
The text for the first Sunday of Lent finds Jesus at the river Jordan being baptized by John. Immediately after, he is driven out into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan for forty days. At the end of that time Jesus returns home to Galilee proclaiming that “the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the good news.” (vs.15)
Jesus’ time in the wilderness is widely regarded as the prep for his ministry, however, the mise en place for Judea goes further back. The book of Mark begins with a declaration of preparation. “Prepare the way for the Lord; make his paths straight.” (vs. 3, paraphrasing Isaiah 40) Before baptizing Jesus, John calls for others to be baptized “to show that they are changing their hearts and lives and [want] God to forgive their sins.” (vs. 4) The people came willingly at John’s call, responding with enthusiasm. By Mark’s account, “all Judea” came to be baptized. They came less willingly when Jesus’ called. Why was this?
The work of repentance is difficult, even when we have had an encounter with the holy that gives a sense of the nearness of the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is radically different from anything that we now know. If we have not done the prep work, the mise en place, if we’ve not “read the recipe” and taken the steps to prepare ourselves, then our acts of what we suppose to be repentance will be inadequate. If we confine our actions to the limits of the current systems of injustice and exploitation, if we refuse to mine our spiritual imagination for God’s vision, if we do not lean on the wild and unregulated guidance of the Holy Spirit, then our repentance, as sincere as we may be, will leave us with a less than pleasant final dish. Repentance takes us beyond what we know, out into the wilderness where we meet God. But we cannot repent if we do not do the prep work, if we do not engage the mise en place.
What is your mise en place? What is the mise en place that your congregation or your community requires? What dish, what good vision is God calling you to be part of creating? Take some time to sit with God, read scripture, read the news, or speak with others in your community to find out where the kingdom is coming near. Become aware of the need for, and the requirements of repentance. And then do the prep work needed so that you may participate in the “cooking up” of the kingdom.
(Photo Credit: Charles Haynes — https://www.flickr.com/photos/haynes/500435491)
