Lent & Love
There's been a lot going on recently, both in my life and in the world, that feels overwhelming. But one thing I am thankful for in the midst of the chaos is the season of Lent.
I did not grow up following the Christian calendar, at least not in a way that I recognized. I knew that Lent was something some Christians did and that it had something to do with giving up chocolate (okay, not necessarily chocolate) because Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. But that was about it. I think one year when I was in junior high or high school I "gave up" tomato soup (which I already didn't care for), and another year I "gave up" candy (but still nearly daily enjoyed cookies, ice cream, etc.). The message/meaning/purpose of Lent was not something I had found yet.
Skip forward to more recent years and I have begun to love the seasons of the Christian calendar. The rhythms of life that help us order and re-order our days. And this particular season of Lent feels so necessary to me. Like, in my bones I needed it as a way to grieve and hope and listen. To let go of some things and hold more tightly to others. I knew I needed it at the start of the season, and now several weeks in I am even more grateful for it and feel an even deeper need for it.
This season of Lent calls us to 40 days of reflection, re-ordering, re-imagining, hoping, loving, grieving, listening, redeeming...
I have been reading the book All Shall Be Well, which is a collection of readings for Lent and Easter and it has been a balm to my soul. The words, chapter after chapter, reminding me that we need Lent. It is for all people. It is something we observe as a community and as individuals. Yes, I have personal reflection to do, AND (not but) I am doing this alongside so many others - those I will see often, and those I may never meet. What an amazing thing to have something that connects us as we anticipate the days of resurrection and redemption.
One of the readings in All Shall Be Well is by Mallory McDuff, and she writes:
"...Lent was about living better, not worse...Life is like forced Lent, where we don't get to choose the things we gave to give up. Choosing to give something up is a means of acknowledging and redeeming what is lost. In this practice, we draw closer to a life that is not giving up - on love."
At the root of Lent is Love. We reflect and grieve and listen and hope because of Love. Capital L Love. God in flesh, Love. Redeemer God, Love. Healer God, Love. Listening God, Love. The list could go on, and I am overwhelmed by the goodness of it all.
In grief, in hope, in loss, in love, in it all we cling to a God who is Love. And I am incredibly grateful for Love and the community it brings me into.
I did not grow up following the Christian calendar, at least not in a way that I recognized. I knew that Lent was something some Christians did and that it had something to do with giving up chocolate (okay, not necessarily chocolate) because Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness. But that was about it. I think one year when I was in junior high or high school I "gave up" tomato soup (which I already didn't care for), and another year I "gave up" candy (but still nearly daily enjoyed cookies, ice cream, etc.). The message/meaning/purpose of Lent was not something I had found yet.
Skip forward to more recent years and I have begun to love the seasons of the Christian calendar. The rhythms of life that help us order and re-order our days. And this particular season of Lent feels so necessary to me. Like, in my bones I needed it as a way to grieve and hope and listen. To let go of some things and hold more tightly to others. I knew I needed it at the start of the season, and now several weeks in I am even more grateful for it and feel an even deeper need for it.
This season of Lent calls us to 40 days of reflection, re-ordering, re-imagining, hoping, loving, grieving, listening, redeeming...
I have been reading the book All Shall Be Well, which is a collection of readings for Lent and Easter and it has been a balm to my soul. The words, chapter after chapter, reminding me that we need Lent. It is for all people. It is something we observe as a community and as individuals. Yes, I have personal reflection to do, AND (not but) I am doing this alongside so many others - those I will see often, and those I may never meet. What an amazing thing to have something that connects us as we anticipate the days of resurrection and redemption.
One of the readings in All Shall Be Well is by Mallory McDuff, and she writes:
"...Lent was about living better, not worse...Life is like forced Lent, where we don't get to choose the things we gave to give up. Choosing to give something up is a means of acknowledging and redeeming what is lost. In this practice, we draw closer to a life that is not giving up - on love."
At the root of Lent is Love. We reflect and grieve and listen and hope because of Love. Capital L Love. God in flesh, Love. Redeemer God, Love. Healer God, Love. Listening God, Love. The list could go on, and I am overwhelmed by the goodness of it all.
In grief, in hope, in loss, in love, in it all we cling to a God who is Love. And I am incredibly grateful for Love and the community it brings me into.
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