What is Lent all about?
Pastor’s Column February 2016
Although it is very hard to believe, it is already time for Lent. Lent is a forty day period that lasts from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday. A bit of trivia: the calendar actually shows 46 day between these dates because Sundays are not considered part of Lent. This is a time of prayer and preparation. During these next few weeks Christians all around the world will be taking on spiritual disciplines and giving up unneeded distractions in an effort to grow stronger in their relationship with Jesus.
Our congregation will mark the Lenten season in several ways. Our Mardi Gras celebration will be held on February 9. “Fat Tuesday” is an opportunity to indulge one last time in the things that will be given up during the Lenten fast. For us it is a time of fellowship. We will have a pancake supper and enjoy the New Orleans tradition of a king cake.
The official start of Lent will come the next day. February 10 is Ash Wednesday. On that night we will gather for worship and the imposition of ashes. The color of the paraments will change. The Scripture lessons will remind us of our need for God’s grace. The time of confession will be an opportunity to open ourselves to Christ’s forgiveness. Ashes made from last year’s Palm Sunday branches will remind us how quickly we move from praising God to breaking God’s heart. The cross of ashes placed on each person’s forehead reminds that we are mortal, yet forgiven.
The real point of Lent is what happens after Ash Wednesday. Over the next six weeks I challenge every member of our congregation to take on some spiritual discipline. Take a look at your faith life and figure out what is missing. Choose one thing that needs to be added. Practice that one thing intentionally each and every day. Build a new habit that will allow you to come closer to Jesus on a daily basis. A good place to start might be the congregation’s Lenten devotional. It is not a question of earning Christ’s love. You are already loved. Instead, it is a way of experiencing that love in a new way.
On the other hand, perhaps there is something that is getting in the way. Perhaps your life is too complicated. Perhaps something needs to be set aside in order for you to have more time for prayer and ministry. What distracts you from God? What temptations lead you toward self-centeredness? Perhaps that is the very thing that you are being called to let go of during Lent. Whatever it is, try life without it for these few weeks. It is only six weeks. If you find you absolutely cannot live without it, you can always go back. However, you might find that this is exactly what God has been trying to get you to give up for years.
