Pocket Lent

I've always been interested in Lent. Growing up, I was friends with the kid who lived across the street and whose family was Roman Catholic. Every year around this time, he would talk about his family not doing certain things or how he was only allowed to eat certain foods (something about fish and Fridays...). Being a good little Baptist(ish) boy, I never understood it and thought, "Well, if my church doesn't do it, it must be wrong". Over the years, however, after emerging from an "If it's Catholic, it's bad" mind set, and especially in more recent years, I've come to understand a lot more about Ashes and Lent, and see some great value in the practice and the intent.

Lent is the 40 day period before Easter during which the participant prepares himself for the Holy week. It is considered to be symbolic of the multiple events that occurred over periods of 40 days, and sometimes years, in the Scriptures: i.e. Noah on the ark, Moses on Sinai, the Hebrews in the wilderness (40 yrs, that one), Elijah going to Mt. Horeb, the 40 day opportunity given to Ninevah to repent, Christ's fasting in preparation for His temptation in the wilderness. The basic idea behind it is to give up distractions in order to focus on God and our standing with Him, and prepare to commemorate and celebrate the events of Christ's betrayal, trial, death, and resurrection.

Ok, so, two things: First, and this is more of a vent than anything, I think it's a shame that the larger part of modern Evangelicalism has written-off Lent (and most other strictly non-Evangelical observances) as, basically, a "Yae! Being Catholic is the Greatest!" festival. We miss so much reverence and piety (the good kind) that is there for all Christians to glean from; to put up one's nose at it simply because it's different from what our church does is just heart breaking. This is a different topic altogether, but there is a vast, and I think intentional, misunderstanding of Catholicism on the part of a lot of Evangelicals that has been detrimental to the effectiveness and unity of the universal Church for an unfortunate number of years. We can learn a lot from our Catholic brothers.

Second, and more to the point of Ashes and Lent, if the basic idea behind the two holy days is to remove hindrances in our relationship with God, why only do it for 40 days? And why only Catholics? (I find it ironic that a doctrine accused of a works based salvation has a corner on the market of repentance, meanwhile the free grace crowd is schismed over their insistence on exercising what they think are their liberties.) See, I think we should all observe Lent, but not just for 40 days. Doesn't the desire to repent and be rid of the distractions of the flesh only come from the Spirit in us by the grace of God? Shouldn't we all be seeking to remove those things that cloud our vision and redirect our eyes away from the one who gives us fullness of life? Honestly, I want every day of my life to be marked by the ashes of Ash Wednesday and the hunger pangs of Lent as I hunt down and struggle to remove those things that hinder my relationship with God. I don't simply want to cast aside distractions for 40 days, but I want to put to death those things that try to convince me that the fullness of life is in a thick wallet and a full belly. Because of God's grace given to me, I want to live a Lenten life in which I kill distraction daily, in which I die to the flesh daily, in which I am conformed to the image of Christ daily; all in preparation for the celebration of the Holy Day of Christ's return when we will celebrate His resurrection, ascension, and Kingship daily...for all eternity.


Happy Lent

Ashes to Ashes...

Just a little something to let people know I'm still alive on this Ash Wednesday. Lately, I've come to value alot of the liturgy, tradition, etc. from some various denominations (I'm beginning to hate that word), which lead me to take another look at the observation of Ash Wednesday. Now, as I understand it, Ashes is the day were adherents go to their palces of worship and have the sign of the cross marked on their forehead with ashes as they confess sin and resolve to turn from it. I've always wondered about the practice, searching the Scriptures for any, even vague, reference or instruction along these lines. This year, I came to see it from a different angle. We shouldn't be hemming and hawing and casting judgement because we see that that there is no instruction or example of celebrating Ash Wednesday one day a year. Rather, we should be intensely concerned with the fact that there is a command to celebrate it everday of our lives: The focus of Ash Wednesday isn't some religious liturgical commemoration, it is repentance.