So, I used to think that I don’t “do” Lent. The part about fasting or giving up something for 40 days is just hard for me to get with.
Maybe it’s because the church in which I was raised didn’t really do Lent either, but taught me to abstain from a lot of things year-round. That was meaningful to many people, but for me it missed the mark.
Maybe it’s because one of my favorite movies of all time, Chocolat, is an epic battle of grace vs. piety, community vs. isolation, lust vs. chastity, chocolate vs. abstension, all set in a small town during Lent. Spoiler alert: chocolate wins.
Maybe it’s because I left church for awhile and wasn’t sure what the point was. And maybe it’s just too hard. I don’t want to be uncomfortable. You can’t make me!
No, I don’t really give up stuff for Lent.
What I have done since joining Beloved is to read Lenten reflections and ponder the deeper mysteries of life each day around this time. Each year as I get to know people better, this becomes more meaningful to me.
I am really moved by people talking frankly about the fear of death, the sadness of loss, and the daily suffering of our world. These are not things we usually like to talk about, but these are the business of the church and of faith to work out.
I was surprised the first time I went to an Easter service at Beloved and heard normal people sharing resurrection stories – experiences from their real life of transformation and rebirth. Could this really be celebrated as holy? Yes, it is.
Last year I was scared to share my own reflection on the subject of God, death, and rebirth. I felt it wouldn’t be “church-approved” enough or that I might offend someone. That was not the case.
Pope Francis invited us to participate in Lent this year in a way I understand. Instead of just fasting from food, social media or alcohol, he said it is permissible to “fast from indifference.”
Maybe giving up indifference is the first step to giving up the other distractions. Maybe I am beginning to shed a mindless routine and superficial concerns more each day. Maybe I am really “doing” Lent, just a little bit.
The Pope also said, “I distrust a charity that costs nothing and does not hurt.” Well, getting past indifference hurts. It’s uncomfortable. It’s the first step towards letting go of other things.
So today I’m pondering these ominous, weird, poetic scripture readings from the lectionary and wondering what others see in them. I see hope for redemption, faith in our vision, striving to build a better world in the face of death.
I look forward to reading all that everyone is pondering during Lent.
HABAKUK 3:16-18: I hear, and I tremble within;
my lips quiver at the sound.
Rottenness enters into my bones,
and my steps tremble beneath me.
I wait quietly for the day of calamity
to come upon the people who attack us.
Though the fig tree does not blossom,
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
Philliipians 3:12-21: Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything, this too God will reveal to you. Only let us hold fast to what we have attained.
Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears. Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself.
