Tags
christianity, church, God, gospel, Lent, liturgy, Mardi Gras, religion, repentance, worship
I grew up going to church every time the doors were open. I often say that I was going to church nine months before I was born. However, the churches I attended were not “high” or liturgical type churches–therefore, we really did not follow the church calendar. When I heard someone talking about “Lent” it seemed to me they were talking about “lint” which of course made no sense to me at all.
I pastor in the same denomination that I grew up in. Being a student of church history I have obviously become much more aware of the church calendar. We still do not follow it except at Advent and even then only in the most informal of ways. This also means that we don’t follow the Lectionary schedule of readings or sermons or things such as that.
But since I am now a pastor and an adult follower of Christ I have given more thought to this season of Lent. For the uninitiated Lent is a period of 40 days preceding the celebration of the resurrection of Christ set aside as a time of reflection and repentance. This season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday (today) and concludes, depending on which church calendar you follow, either on Resurrection Sunday or Maundy Thursday. You might also know that the day before Ash Wednesday is “Fat Tuesday,” better known as Mardi Gras. My guess is that if one is going to embark on 40 days of penance they should have lots of things to repent of.
Today, being Ash Wednesday, will find many believers (or at least religious people) in churches participating in a ceremony in which the sign of the Cross will be marked upon their forehead with ashes outwardly indicating a time of confession. I have only done this one time–I must admit it was simply for the experience. It also ended up being a rather humorous experience. It was in a church I had never been in before (or since) and I was approaching the altar for the impartation of ashes. When I was about halfway up the aisle an older woman motioned for me to approach her at which point she placed a $20 bill in my hand. As you can imagine I was a bit taken back. I’m not sure if she thought I was an usher or I just looked like I needed some extra cash, but I got a good laugh out of it when I give it to the actual ushers in the back of the auditorium. 
Now, back to Lent. So today we enter this time of year when many will go into some form of self-denial. Maybe it will be fasting a certain meal for 40 days, or a certain type of food, or some activity, etc. It is a season of focusing on the Cross. While you may or may not belong to one of the more liturgical faith traditions, I would encourage you to consider this opportunity–not necessarily of having ashes applied to your forehead, but of pausing and reflecting on our sinfulness and the price that was paid for our forgiveness. What outward and visible expression might your repentance and focus take? Think about it. What are you going to be giving up for “lint?”
It is hard to know what to give up for Lent, so I usually just opt to give up broccoli
Seriously, this year I have considered the fact that I have not been taking very good care of His Temple (my flabby body). I like to pray when I am on the dreadmill, so it is wonderful – once I get into it. For God I will do it. If it were about me; just give me a brownie and leave me alone.
What a great moment of Lenten honesty. I believe my favorite part of the comment was the “dreadmill.”