Lent
The Christian tradition I grew up didn’t observe Lent. We were all about Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter Morning, though!
I remember the first time I saw someone who had left an Ash Wednesday service… I innocently and politely said, “Excuse me, but I think you have something on your forehead.” I was told it was supposed to be there because it was the start of Lent, which only spurred more questions. And the way it was initially described to me left more of a legalistic impression than one of repentance or devotion. And to be sure, our Christian tradition was big on repentance! Maybe because that was so prevalent throughout the year, there was no need to focus attention on repentance through the Lenten season.
But as I have given time and space to the observance of Lent, I find it to be a beautiful time of spiritual growth. Beginning with Ash Wednesday’s remembrance of our fallenness and frailty through the forty days of Lenten practice, this observance has become a regular part of my personal spiritual journey. It has become a way for me to prepare myself for the celebration and ramifications of Easter. I have not had ashes spread on my forehead, but I have given pause, time, and dedication to observing Lent. And I have found that in forty days, it’s a wonderful way to break bad habits or create new good habits. Or maybe both.
I think that, culturally, Lent is equated giving something up for forty days, a fasting from something important to you. I know that’s how I understood it early on. Giving up meat, or alcohol, or chocolate, or coffee, or entertainment for forty days. Typically, it’s giving up a particular vice, bad habit, or something that brings pleasure to an individual. This is why I understood Lent as a legalistic practice. Many of the people I engaged with about the topic of Lent used phrases like “It’s Lent, so I can’ have ____.” Lent came across like an unwanted duty, not a response of dedication or obedience. It seemed like if it wasn’t for Lent, they’d be living my full life. And that would tend to make me feel some sort of resentment about practicing Lent. In reality, Lent should lead us toward gratitude for what God offers us through Jesus. Now, over the years, I have indeed fasted from certain things during Lent. And like a proper spiritual fast, when I desired the things I had given up, that pang of exclusion prompted a prayer of inclusion to the heart and ways of God, not a resentment for what HE was keeping me from.
So, another way to observe Lent is through prayer. Taking regular time to talk to God is important, but taking time to listen is just as important. Maybe more important. Quietness and solitude are a part of that practice of prayer that is a rarity. I have observed Lent by shutting down the distractions, creating an opportunity for peaceful contemplation and conversation with God. Maybe it starts with a dedicated Lenten devotional. Or a refresh on the teaching of Jesus for a month and a half. All of that is done with the expectation of meeting with and hearing from God in what I read or in a still small voice. A Meeting that reassures me, not tears me down. Sure, in addition to recognizing our frailty, a part of Ash Wednesday is repentance. But once that slate is washed clean, regular communion with the One who forgives is a great way to forge new habits that prevent whatever I had to confess in repentance in the first place! From that point of frailty, God intends to grow us. And He does so through these quiet times. No relationship can grow without healthy communication. And actually, that is all prayer is: communicating with God.
A final way I have observed Lent is through giving. Certainly, there is a giving of my time, as prayer and contemplation take time from other things I could be doing. Using that time for self-awareness and spiritual growth is obviously a way to give that has lasting benefits. But so does giving of skills and talents, giving of my work and service, and even giving of my resources. Serving at a food-band or soup-kitchen, volunteering for a beach or watershed clean-up, helping out at a senior center or boys and girls club are all wonderful ways to give during Lent. And many organizations and mission works have monetary donation drives this time of year, giving opportunity for more tangible ways to give. Giving helps me realize that it’s not always about me. That I am part of something bigger.
As I think about my Lenten practices this year, I see that, for me, Lent is not about “giving up” and more about “giving more.” More time for contemplation instead of binge-watching. More time for devotional reading instead of doom-scrolling. More time to serve others instead of myself. More effort to make God’s kingdom stronger instead of my own puny empire. My perspective of Lent has shifted over the years, from duty to opportunity. From contrition of my failings to celebration of God’s fullness. And that is a wonderful way to spend the forty days leading up to Easter.
How will you observe Lent this year?
