Here Comes Lent
Growing up in Texas I had quite a few friends whose families were Catholics. Growing up Baptist I would ask questions about the things they practice and one of the ones that always got me was Lent. I mean 40 days of giving something up that you enjoy, just did not make sense to me. I would ask my pastor but he just told me that it was not necessary to be a good Christian to follow a practice of Lent. As I got older I kept exploring this practice. I have the idea that as long as you do not harm someone else or yourself that if a practice helps you draw closer to God that you should follow that practice.
One year in our church we looked at this practice as a church and decided we would follow it. I taught on a Sunday about our take on Lent and a man who attended our church that had been Catholic most of his life told me that if he had understood Lent that way it would have been more meaningful to him when he practiced it as a younger man. So let me see if I can encourage you to consider Lent as a practice this Easter season.
A quick look at Lent is to tell you that it is practice for forty days before Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until the Saturday before Easter. It is not so much about Mardi Gras, even though that takes over in the minds of most people. So with that being said let’s jump in and take a different and hopefully a refreshing take on a practice that might change not just forty days but the rest of your life.
Lent is a call back to the basics of faith to God’s love and our response to His love for us. In Matthew Jesus talks about this inner work that God wants to do in our hearts. He talks about when you are doing this private work that you should not break your arm patting yourself on the back. “Be careful! When you do good things, don’t do them in front of people to be seen by them. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. “When you give to the poor, don’t be like the hypocrites. They blow trumpets in the synagogues and on the streets so that people will see them and honor them. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. So when you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know what you are doing. Your giving should be done in secret. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you. “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them. I tell you the truth, they already have their full reward. When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you. [Matthew 6:1-6 (NCV)] “When you give up eating, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They make their faces look sad to show people they are giving up eating. I tell you the truth, those hypocrites already have their full reward. So when you give up eating, comb your hair and wash your face.
Then people will not know that you are giving up eating, but your Father, whom you cannot see, will see you. Your Father sees what is done in secret, and he will reward you. [Matthew 6:16-18 (NCV)]
Jesus is reminding us that Lent and sacrifice should be a private and meaningful time of spiritual growth with God. We need to just lean into what we are doing during our Lent and let our relationship grow quietly. The evidence in our changed lives will be seen by all that know us. What that being said I think there are three words that describe Lent for us. Let’s take a minute and look at them.
Engaging: in that we are drawn closer to God by concentrating on the journey of Christ for 40 days. It is a time where we truly look in the gospels to see the life that Jesus lived and to see the ways we can make that a part of our lives. It is to concentrate on the example he set for us and figuring out how we can walk in his steps.
Demanding: in that we deal with our sins in a realistic way by facing them, saying no to them and repenting from them. Sin is a part of our life that we need to confess and face with God’s help. We all have those things that seem to keep coming back around. We have to decide to come clean with God and stay clean with his help.
Committed: in that we are becoming more like Christ as we journey with Him to the cross. We commit ourselves to picking up something that is good, and putting something down that is not good. Christ laid down his life as he picked up a cross for us. This part of Lent reminds us of his sacrifice for us and pushes us to commit to our own picking up and putting down in our daily lives.
We will remember the sacrifice of our God and commit ourselves to becoming more like Jesus during these 40 days.