I was afraid to use the term Lent in the title of this blog for fear people would immediately delete. For many churches Lent has become trivialized, marginalized or completely eliminated because they say it is too gloomy and too much a downer.
I believe the trend away from Lent reflects our culture’s fear of reflection. The marginalization comes from the fact that we do not want to look at ourselves for who we truly are and we would rather hind behind a facade of what appears to be joy but in reality becomes only noise.
Lent is a GIFT that the Church has given us over the centuries. Lent is an invitation to step back from the culture and to look at who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ in the midst of this modern day culture. Historically Lent has been a time of prayer, fasting and acts of Christian love. The prayer and the fasting create a space for reflection so that transformation and transition might be allowed to step forth. Acts of Christian love become a response to God’s forgiveness and renewal that take place in this season.
God is calling me to extra prayer, reflection, repentance and service. God is calling me to fast in ways that are much more than giving up foods. God is calling me to greater authenticity during this Lenten season when I am going to be invited to look at the masks that are still left. May be painful, but, at the other end is Easter.
There cannot be a rising without a dying.
So, for Lent:
- How might you set aside more time for prayer?
- What activity can be “given up” so that prayer becomes a part of the day?
- In what ways is God calling you to use the GIFT of Lent?
