What’s Lent Got To Do With It?
If a central icon of my denomination is not the crucifix, eating fish on Fridays or Stations of the Cross, could God still have something for me in the season of Lent?
So often we think of Lent coupled with heaviness and sorrow because of its preparation for the observance of Jesus’ death. But the word “Lent” actually comes from the word lecten which means lengthening referring to the longer hours of daylight as we approach Easter. Not a word centered on despair but a word bursting with hope, joy and new life!
There’s something stirring in me. As the darkest winter months pass and I anticipate Easter, I feel my cells tingling.
Did you know there is a calendar of the Christian church with different seasons and holidays? Half of the year, starting four weeks before Christmas with Advent and ending 50 days after Easter with Pentecost is full of holidays, festivities, and observances. The second half of the year from Pentecost in late spring until Advent is called Ordinary Time, celebrating the sacredness and renewal of ordinary life.
In my current denomination, considering every day holy, we pay little attention to the church calendar. To us, it feels like putting the new wine of Jesus’ new covenant into old wine skins, stepping back into Old Testament bondages and religious rituals when we should be participating daily in a “living” experience of Christ and promptings of the Holy Spirit, not crusty, scheduled observances.
Have you ever met someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas? Some of the most well-intentioned people who stay away from the Holiday because it has become such a commercialized event and December is most likely not when Jesus was born anyway?
Or someone bemoaning Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or Valentine’s Day as a ploy of the greeting card industry to trick us all into lining their pockets with profit? Missing the incredible opportunity to take a day to stop and tell our spouses, mothers, and fathers how much we love them and how important they are to us. How many great family memories would have been lost without these observances written in black and white on our calendars?
It's always felt like Easter has snuck up on me. With Christmas and Easter being the two most foundational stones of our faith, without participating in Lent leading to Easter, it feels kind of like showing up on Christmas Eve expected to take in the profound mystery of Jesus’ birth without the four weeks of Advent.
As I discover more and more joy in learning about and participating in the Christian holidays, I’m wondering if it’s the same for the Church calendar? Is it a legalistic tool to put me in bondage or a framework for a vivid spiritual life and growing relationship with God? Am I missing out in my liturgical “Scroog-li-ness” on great blessings?
I’m not sure. But for me, in the past few years God led me to see Lent as an opportunity for 40 days of fresh God-led focus. As humans, if time continues to move day after day without pauses or special observances, one day easily slips into another. God knows human beings so well. Forty days is the perfect amount of time for my attention span to enjoy the mystery and delight of a fresh focus.
As Lent approaches I start watching and listening for what God has for me. This year, I feel a strong drawing to meditate on Jesus’ sacrifice for me on the cross. I can see myself holding a small cross for a few minutes each day during my quiet time. I may spend some time slowly reading passages of scripture about the crucifixion or the gospels. I was also led to a little book that felt like a Lent prompting from the Holy Spirit as well.
I’m not going to force anything. God’s work comes only as a freely bestowed gift, not from squeezing my eyes shut or clutching my little cross tighter. I’m excited to do these little things, enjoy God and the gift of Lent; welcoming His resurrection work in me and spring just around the corner.
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Want to join me? Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, this coming Wednesdsay, February 22!