WHY LENT? Why, every year, must we spend 40 days
thinking about things like sin, and suffering, and repentance, and death, and
renewal? Why can't we do that on our own
when we're in the mood; when we have time; when experiences around us force us
to confront the realities of sin and death? Why do we have to force ourselves into dealing
with these thoughts when they don't square with our feelings?
Some have wondered aloud about these
things. Others have said, "I hate
Lent, just give me Easter?" Maybe
that is why so much of U. S. Christianity avoids Lent. And, other than Mardi Gras, most of the U.S.
knows nothing of Lent. Lent begins on
Ash Wednesday, which is February 13th this year, and ends with Easter Sunday
Vespers Services at 6:00 PM on March 31st.
Frankly, no one HAS to observe Lent. The Evangelical Catholic Church (which
includes Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Angelical/Episcopalian churches) is not
in the business of establishing a whole bunch of new rules and regulations
which will bind the conscience of her people and hold them captive. But The Church, as part of her ministry, does
wish to give people an opportunity to remember Jesus, His life, His love, His
teachings, His signs and deeds, His misery, His suffering, His rejection, His
God-awful death, and His wholly-unexpected resurrection. The most meaningful and orderly way The Church
has found to teach these things is to establish the seasons of The Church's
Year of Grace -- each of which is devoted to remembering a particular aspect of
Christ's life and teaching.
And so in Advent, we await the coming of
the promised Messiah. At Christmas, we
behold the gift of salvation wrapped in flesh and blood as Bethlehem's Child. In Epiphany, the wrappings of the Christmas
gift are off and we behold the gift at work -- teaching, preaching, healing,
making whole. At Easter time, the great
resurrection promise takes shape in the Risen Christ -- a preliminary
resurrection to the one He promises each of us by Baptism and faith. At Pentecost, we are inheritors of revealed
teaching and the community of faith brought about by the teaching through the
indwelling of The Spirit.
Then, there is Lent -- those forty days
that bring us to the foot of the Cross, where we are confronted with the
darkest realities of our existence: temptation,
sin, betrayal, suffering and death. There
at the foot of the Cross, we remember how God did, and still does, work out our
ultimate rescue in Christ.
It's true, you can ignore The Church's
call to Lent and Lenten renewal. There's
no law that says we have to think about these things at this time of the year. Yet, I find myself encouraging you to
deliberately use this Lent as an opportunity to remember and to be renewed in
mind and spirit. Believe me, it will
make your Easter more meaningful and more joyful! A Blessed Lent!
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