The One About Lent

"Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry." - Luke 4:1-2

Today is March 5, 2014.  Apart from being the birthday of the woman who gave birth to me (Happy Birthday Mommy), this year it is the start of Lent.  It's that time of year when people all over the world vow to stop smoking, drinking, eating sweets, cursing, or whatever else people give up to honor the season leading up to the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.  For the past two years, I haven't given up anything for Lent.  I hadn't felt compelled to do it.  And maybe that makes me a bad Christian.  But I realized that the "stuff" that I was giving up for 40 days was stuff that I probably shouldn't be doing anyway.  But for 40 days a year, I give it up and then on day 41, I'm right back at it again.  So I didn't want to keep doing that. That's not the actual purpose of this season.  Do you know the meaning of the season of Lent, for real?

Lent is part of the Christian calendar.  Throughout the year, there are certain seasons that (some) Christians observe to have a spiritual focus.  I like the Christian calendar, and I started linking my devotions to it last year.  It can force you to read passages of scripture that normally get overlooked. It can bring some discipline to your devotional life.  It can help you connect with God and the bigger purpose of what it means to follow Christ.  It's been helpful to me.  The seasons are:  Advent (early December-December 24th), Christmas (12 Days from December 25th-January 5th, which is where we get the 12 days of Christmas song from), Epiphany (January 6th-Ash Wednesday), Lent (40 days until the start of Passion Week), Eastertide (50 days from Easter Sunday to Pentecost), Pentecost (goes until the start of Advent again).  Lent represents the 40 days in the wilderness Jesus spent prior to the start of his ministry. We sacrifice something because he did. As his followers, Christians are (supposedly) seeking to relate to God intimately, like Christ did. And the Holy Spirit was the one who led Jesus into the wilderness. 

So this Lenten season,. I am asking myself, where is the Holy Spirit leading me?  And when I go to the place that I am being led, what will I be hungry for when the time is done?  In my normal lent sacrifice, I would give up something and hunger for it at the end of the 40 days.  Giving up sweets?  On day 41, I'm having a chocolate chip cookie.  Giving up alcohol?  Hand me a martini on day 41.  So I end up still hungering for the same thing I gave up.  No transformation. No change.  Nothing is really different.  Maybe I shed a few pounds, but they'll probably be back.  So how do we practice Lent for real?  Like sacrifice something that you won't actually hunger for again, so that you draw closer to God, who is what we are really hungry for.  That doesn't happen by simply saying no to something.  You have to say yes to something else.  Like time with God.  For every craving you get for the thing you sacrifice, maybe you have a scripture that you meditate on or a prayer you utter in those moments to remind yourself of your true hunger: intimacy with God.  I think my sacrifice this year is my busy schedule.  I've been led to many opportunities and chances to further my career and do many good things.  But in turn, my time with God has diminished.  That's not ok. So, I'm going to try to give up being busy this year for Lent.  Let' see if I'll hunger for a busy schedule again after it's done.  So if I say not to an invitation, don't take it personal.  I'm trying something new for Lent.