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While I decided to give up alcohol for Lent, that was a piece of (chocolate) cake compared to my real Lenten discipline: Giving up my archnemesis. Not only did I have to be civil to Scott Gunn for a seemingly endless 40 days and 40 nights, I had to be in touch nearly every day to collaborate on Lent Madness.
To mark the end of our seasonal detente, on Easter Eve I even had to amend the following prayer at the Great Paschal Vigil:
Through the Paschal mystery, dear friends, we are buried with Christ by Baptism into his death, and raised with him to newness of life. I call upon you, therefore, now that our Lenten observance is ended, and I have regained my archnemesis, to renew the solemn promises and vows of Holy Baptism, by which we once renounced Satan, Scott Gunn, and their combined works, and promised to serve God faithfully in his holy Catholic Church.
Just as the women at the tomb on that first Easter morning didn’t leap up and start singing “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” but came into their joy gradually as the reality of the Resurrection began to sink in, so will I bide my time before firing off a salvo. There’s no hurry. Living into an archnemesian rivalry is all about endurance; it’s a war of attrition. You brush off the petty liturgical and homiletical insults, while recognizing that your archnemesis has neither altar nor pulpit of his own, and fortify your arsenal for the long haul of bitter conflict.
What will spark the next explosion? That remains to be seen. But I am thrilled that our Lenten fast has ended and the world has returned to rights. The disequilibrium of cooperation has been the true cross to bear.
The Rev. Tim Schenck has been the rector of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist in Hingham, Mass., since 2009. He has also served parishes in Maryland and New York.
When not tending to his parish, hanging out with his family or writing, he can usually be found drinking good coffee.
Visit his website at www.frtim.com to find out more, including recent sermons and excerpts his my book "What Size are God's Shoes: Kids, Chaos & the Spiritual Life."
