Lent.
The season of “No-Meat-on-Fridays;” giving up little pleasures, the priest carrying purple, no Alleluia/Gloria throughout Mass…It’s our non secular bootcamp as we put together for the dying and resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
It’s the season that all the time catches me unexpectedly…“It’s Lent already???”
And as of final Wednesday, we’re formally in it.
It was fascinating to be on trip throughout this era.
To start with, fasting whereas on trip is actually not a standard exercise. (To be clear, I don’t quick from meals given my historical past with anorexia, however reasonably add in different non secular sacrifices).
However secondly, it was simply actually blatantly apparent that…Lent is about as counter cultural as you will get.
As I you recognize, I used to be in Utah snowboarding final week. And our place belongs to this assortment of condos that has a communal clubhouse. And one of many “perks” is that day-after-day throughout the ski season, you get free breakfast and free aprés ski in the neighborhood lodge.
And so, in fact, on Friday — a “no meat” day — we went down for breakfast and snacks…and there have been no non-meat choices. It was a floor beef taco bar, and the soup was rooster noodle. Stunning — however not “Lent-friendly.”
However certain, the Friday meals observances are one factor….however the entire idea of self denial and sacrifice of Lent…that may be a idea that utterly goes towards fashionable society.
The society that worships on the altar of “my fact;” the society that has created the faith of woke ideologies; the society that has glorified the self to deity-status… the society doesn’t do self denial. It doesn’t do inconvenience for the sake of religion. It doesn’t do dwelling for somebody aside from oneself.
However that’s exactly what Lent invitations us to do.
The self-denial of Lent isn’t meant to be one thing that one parades round on Instagram for likes or visibility. However reasonably, it’s a deep non secular train that permits us, within the void or need for that factor, to attract near Christ and cling to Him in our neediness. And to deal with Him. To arrange alongside Him as He makes his method in direction of Calvary and His Ardour and dying and supreme resurrection.
It’s a solution to get ourselves out of the way in which, in order that we will extra deeply join with God.
And yeah, it goes utterly towards what our tradition dictates as regular and “proper.”
It’s a fairly tangible affirmation that, being folks of religion, we’re, in reality, on an island. Positive, it could possibly really feel isolating, however nobody mentioned following Jesus can be simple…or in style.
Sure, Lent is inconvenient. No, self-denial isn’t enjoyable, and it actually isn’t one thing you’d select to do on trip.
However on the finish of the day, it’s these little sacrifices that enable us to hitch Jesus in His struggling, which we’re making ready for on Good Friday and at Easter.
Know that I’m praying for you throughout this Lenten season!
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