Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I write this during the season of Epiphany, that season of the church year in which we remember the extraordinary ways that God showed up in the life of Jesus, convincing those around him that God dwelt in him in such powerful ways that he not only was like God, but was God. But by the time you read this, we will be in the season of Lent, a time of self-reflection for the building up of ourselves as followers of Christ and the building up of His Church, His Body on earth.

If you’re like me, all the good intentions of keeping a Holy Lent by now will have been replaced with the busyness of everyday life, and whatever disciplines we have taken on in this season of Lent are in danger of being forgotten, overlooked or abandoned as being impractical. Or for some of us, we never really got around to making a commitment to ourselves and to God to “do something extra” for Lent.

“Giving something up” for Lent is an ancient practice. Jews keep kosher in part in order to remind themselves of who they are, what binds them together, and what witness they might make in the world. Every time an observant Jew declines meat and dairy on the same plate, or says “no” to the side of bacon with their eggs, they remember that theirs is a special covenant with God – not about what foods to eat, but about how they are to be a special blessing to the world in God’s name.

Giving up chocolate or alcohol or desserts might have that same effect, but in a world filled with poverty, disease and warfare, that seems less than satisfactory, even superficial. If we are to “give something up,” why not think about giving up those things which St. Paul tells us destroy the Body
– like gossip, self-centeredness, pride, and needing to have our own way? Instead of saying “no” to desserts, what if we said “no” to our own pushiness in having things our way – in our families, at work, and at church? What if we each gave up “whining” for Lent – a practice that only says we consider ourselves at the center of the universe? What if, when we hear a juicy bit of gossip, we said “no” to passing it along to someone else (prefacing it with “I don’t know if this is true, but…” is just as destructive)—or better yet, saying “yes” to checking out its truth with the person involved! When encountering someone who disagrees with us about something, what if we said “no” to immediately trying to counter their viewpoints, and said “yes” to asking, “Could you tell me more about why you
feel/think that way?”

Or, if “taking something on” for Lent is more to our liking, what if once a day we stopped to give thanks to God for something in our lives, in the world. “Thank you” may be the best and shortest prayer to God’s liking. Dropping some coins (even some folding money) into our United Thank Offering “blue boxes,” or writing a check to Episcopal Relief and Development is a good way of concretizing that thankfulness. Perhaps we could write that letter we’ve been meaning to write to our elected leaders about some issue we care about – and giving thanks for the blessing (most of us have done nothing to earn it!) of living in a country where such expression is possible. Perhaps we say “yes” to the committee we’ve been asked to join, or “yes” to finding out more about the Millennium Development Goals and why the Church has committed itself to them, or “yes” to increasing our pledge to the parish (most of us could).

Lent is a special opportunity given to us by the Church liturgical calendar to be a bit more reflective, a bit more thankful that we have been saved by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and loved by the God of all creation. Lent is the opportunity to slow down enough to realize all that we have to be thankful for, indeed to realize that God shows up in all our lives, if we will but take the time to notice. A thankful Church is one that can be a more effective witness to the world. This Lent, pray, my brothers and sisters, that we might become that kind of Church, that kind of witness, to a world desperate to see in our lives and hear with their ears the Good News.

Your brother in Christ,

+Gene