From Where I Sit

For most of my life as a pastor I approached Lent with a sense of dread - here we go again. From the beginning. “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” to the end, trying to bring some perspective to a state sponsored execution. Every year I forced myself to take a deep breath and start all over.

Lent is so predictable: start with a reminder of our mortality; set a tone of reflection, penitence, even fasting; reflect on the darker themes of scripture; make a journey to a cross. It is the most difficult of seasons. I wonder sometimes if we don’t get stuck in the predictability of Lent, if it becomes more of a duty than an opportunity. The themes of Lent are important. But perhaps we need a new way of looking at them, so we don’t get stuck. Perhaps, just once, we might try reexamining why we observe Lent rather than just go through the motions.

For example, when looking at ourselves as dust, let’s look at that dust as a source of life. We are made of the earth, connected to every other living thing, sharing the energy of the universe, looking at the possibilities that this little lump of clay holds, instead of just giving something up. That could be the beginning of a vital future.

As for reflection, even the practice of fasting, maybe it would be helpful if we spent some time thinking about what works to make us healthy spiritually, physically, even financially; things like keeping sabbath, eating healthily, spending to sustain just enough for our living rather than seeking more.

One way looking at the dark passages of scripture is through music. John Stainer’s “The Crucifixion” is for me a wonderful resource to reflect on the Passion and Crucifixion of Jesus. One chorus, “For God So Loved the World,” is haunting in its beauty and offers a rich perspective on a dark passage of scripture. There are multiple presentations available on YouTube.  It is from another era, and you might prefer a different genre of music, but scripture set to music might help us get unstuck in Lent.

The purpose of Lent is to give us a fresh start in preparing for Easter, a fresh perspective on what it means for light to overcome darkness, for life to overcome death. Don’t get stuck in Lent. There’s too much opportunity in walking through the season with fresh eyes, there’s so much to gain by using Lent as a pathway to new life in our walk of faith.