Lent is No Easy Road

          Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25, but no one’s jumping up and down about it. These 40 days (excluding Sundays) lead us to Easter, but the mood is different from that parallel season, Advent, that leads to Christmas. Lent provides an even greater opportunity to understand how being Christian is a distinct way to travel the road of life.

            During Advent, much of the world around is lighting lights, playing carols, buying gifts, and brimming with expectation. Early snowfalls accent the season. While we are troubled by the commercial excess of the time, at least much of it helps to support our sense that we are experiencing Advent. But in Lent (the word is believed to come from long-ago Anglo-Saxon meaning “lengthening” for longer days) the seasons often seems to drag on, the gray and grit and grime of winter isn’t yet cleansed by spring, and rarely has real warmth come to our region by Holy Week. While Easter bunnies and colored eggs may begin to be seen on lawns and in stores, the world just isn’t “in the mood” as it is during December. It isn’t singing It’s beginning to look a lot like Easter…

          No, in order to experience Lent we have to be more intentional about it. We seek its meaning in following the way of Jesus in a world that isn’t paying much attention, or is openly hostile. Lent is no easy road. And if the heart of Christmas is the wonder and simplicity of a baby’s birth, Lent leads to the darkness of a trial and crucifixion, followed by a proclamation of a miracle that is frankly bewildering to many of us.

In the early days of the church, new converts to Christianity were catechumens, spending time in fasting and prayer and instruction for a period leading up to their baptism at Easter dawn. After a few centuries, this period was extended to the 40 days of Lent (after Jesus’ 40 days of testing in the wilderness), during which the whole church prepared for its major day of celebration. Some customs have called for the giving up of creature comforts during these days, to allow for a deeper sense of dependence upon God; some have called for increased acts of charity, patterned after the ministry of Jesus. Our giving of the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering is an expression of this.

          The profound reward of Lent is to discover anew what it means to be Christ’s follower and part of his community of meaning and purpose in a world hungry for both. But our surroundings will do little to help us, as in Advent. We must be intentional, and take responsibility for experiencing Lent.

          The church will help. In addition to Sunday morning emphases, there are Wednesday evening brief Lenten Prayer Services scheduled for the season. A new adult series (Sunday mornings at 9:00) will focus on a drama of the trial of Jesus. At home, you may make a family tradition of giving a small contribution each day at supper to the One Great Hour offering, which the church will dedicate on Palm Sunday. Daily devotions for use during Lent are available.

          It’s an old truism, but as in many things, to get something from it, we must put something into it. In keeping with the traditions of this season, I hope you will do something. Lent is no easy road. But it is the only road to Easter, and the goodness of union with a Risen Lord.

Peace,

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 25, but no one’s jumping up and down about it. These 40 days (excluding Sundays) lead us to Easter, but the mood is different from that parallel season, Advent, that leads to Christmas. Lent provides an even greater opportunity to understand how being Christian is a distinct way to travel the road of life. During Advent, much of the world around is lighting lights, playing carols, buying gifts, and brimming with expectation. Early snowfalls accent the season. While we are troubled by the commercial excess of the time, at least much of it helps to support our sense that we are experiencing Advent. But in Lent (the word is believed to come from long-ago Anglo-Saxon meaning “lengthening” for longer days) the seasons often seems to drag on, the gray and grit and grime of winter isn’t yet cleansed by spring, and rarely has real warmth come to our region by Holy Week. While Easter bunnies and colored eggs may begin to be seen on lawns and in stores, the world just isn’t “in the mood” as it is during December. It isn’t singing It’s beginning to look a lot like Easter… No, in order to experience Lent we have to be more intentional about it. We seek its meaning in following the way of Jesus in a world that isn’t paying much attention, or is openly hostile. Lent is no easy road. And if the heart of Christmas is the wonder and simplicity of a baby’s birth, Lent leads to the darkness of a trial and crucifixion, followed by a proclamation of a miracle that is frankly bewildering to many of us. In the early days of the church, new converts to Christianity were catechumens, spending time in fasting and prayer and instruction for a period leading up to their baptism at Easter dawn. After a few centuries, this period was extended to the 40 days of Lent (after Jesus’ 40 days of testing in the wilderness), during which the whole church prepared for its major day of celebration. Some customs have called for the giving up of creature comforts during these days, to allow for a deeper sense of dependence upon God; some have called for increased acts of charity, patterned after the ministry of Jesus. Our giving of the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering is an expression of this. The profound reward of Lent is to discover anew what it means to be Christ’s follower and part of his community of meaning and purpose in a world hungry for both. But our surroundings will do little to help us, as in Advent. We must be intentional, and take responsibility for experiencing Lent. The church will help. In addition to Sunday morning emphases, there are Wednesday evening brief Lenten Prayer Services scheduled for the season. A new adult series (Sunday mornings at 9:00) will focus on a drama of the trial of Jesus. At home, you may make a family tradition of giving a small contribution each day at supper to the One Great Hour offering, which the church will dedicate on Palm Sunday. Daily devotions for use during Lent are available. It’s an old truism, but as in many things, to get something from it, we must put something into it. In keeping with the traditions of this season, I hope you will do something. Lent is no easy road. But it is the only road to Easter, and the goodness of union with a Risen Lord. Peace, Rod

Rod