We are invited, “in the
name of the Lord, to observe a holy Lent…” In English the word Lent originally
meant springtime, and was derived from an old word that meant lengthening,
as in, the lengthening of the daylight hours. In our tradition, Lent is a
season of preparation for the great celebration of the Resurrection. In many
countries the word used to name this liturgical season means forty, the
number of days, not counting Sundays, from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
Lent is not about giving up food, or candy, or bad habits to make
ourselves healthier. Lent is not about starting some spiritual discipline to
become more worthy of salvation. Lent is not even a journeying with Jesus into
the wilderness.
To observe a holy Lent is about engaging more fully with our own
journey. It is a journey towards intimacy with God, being drawn into the very
heart of God. A journey that is much lighter if we manage to remove the
distractions which “draw us from the love of God.”
God’s love calls us to return to the essence of who we really are, created
from the dust of the earth, a part of God’s own creation. We can’t help
but be reminded of our mortality
and our need for penitence, but,
in the midst of this journey there is great hope. After all, we have come to
realize that we are people of the earth. This ancient wisdom, that we are both
physical and spiritual people was known by the Native American religions; the
Celts; the mystics in the Christian tradition; the ancient Hebrews; and Jesus
Christ.
During Lent we try and find a balance between our physical and
spiritual selves. We do this by caring for our bodies; seeking peace with our
neighbours and with the earth; proclaiming God in Christ; seeking justice; and,
performing acts of mercy and kindness. If we choose to fast during Lent, try
fasting from rushing about in life. Make time to rest. Make time to spend time
with God. Reconnect with who we really are – creatures of a loving God. Lent
then, is about drawing us into God’s love, realizing that we are in fact worth
everything to God.
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