I grew up attending a Presbyterian church in my hometown, Casper, Wyoming. Each year our congregation observed the season of Lent. During the Sundays preceding Easter, we listened to Scripture readings and sermons that followed the movement of Jesus toward the cross. We were sometimes challenged to make sacrifices during Lent: give up a habit or take up a new one that might make us more faithful disciples. Lent was part of the rhythm of things in our church. It was just something that we did, something to which I never gave much thought.
As a teenager, I left the church and wandered about for several years. When I finally returned to the church during my senior year in high school, this time with an ardent and enthusiastic faith, it was not to the Presbyterian church of my childhood but to the local Church of God congregation. My parents and family were very supportive because of the change they observed in me. My relationship with God became personal and passionate, and for the first time in many years I began to dream big dreams for my life. For that I am, to this day, very grateful.
In those days, the Church of God did not observe Lent. Easter was, of course, a high day of the year. But Lent--those six or so weeks leading up to Easter--was never mentioned. There was no challenge to follow Jesus on the way to the cross, nor was there any mention of taking up special disciplines during the season. The pastor might preach on any theme of his choosing during those weeks and then--wham!!--it was Easter Sunday. (I should note that we did have a Maundy Thursday service on the Thursday before Easter, but other than that there was no special Lenten preparation, at least none that I can recall.)
I am incredibly grateful for the Church of God. The teachings and ministries of the Church of God have profoundly impacted my life. But I think we made a mistake back in those days when we ignored the season of Lent. I believe that the observance of Lent is especially important for we privileged Americans. Lent reminds us that the way of faith will be (not can be or might be, but will be) profoundly difficult at times. It reminds us that the faithfulness of Jesus required him to take up a cross; and it reminds us that we must take up our crosses, too, if we wish to follow him. It reminds us that the way of faith is a way of death and resurrection. We ourselves are crucified with Christ and raised to new life. There is no other way; true life comes only by way of death and resurrection. It reminds us that there is resistance to God's renewal work in our world, and we ourselves can expect to experience resistance from time to time.
Today, many Church of God congregations, including ours, observe Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday, February 25, and concludes on Easter Sunday morning, April 12. In fact, many congregations of every stripe are returning to Lenten observance. They are returning, I suspect, because they've come to believe that there's no real Easter celebration unless they've first tasted the bitterness of the cross.
I can't say that I look forward to Lent. It always challenges me in new ways, ways that I need, but perhaps don't want, to be challenged. Still, I am incredibly grateful for Lent. When you've felt the rough edges of a cross, the resurrection is all the more glorious.
4 comments:
I should have written this sooner. We do Lent, Easter, & Advent well (sometimes). Yet we don't do Epiphany, Pentecost, & Common or Ordinary Time so well. Perhaps it's like our personal lives. We do the "big" events, whether crises or celebrations, well, but we don't see the momentous in the moment or the special in the ordinary. Having said that, walking with the Lord in the ordinary stuff is infinitely better than not walking with Him in what seems to be monumental.
So, are your comments a vote for or against observing Lent?
I value the lessons of Lent. I get frustrated by the notion of "party your brains out" then give it up for 40 days. When it turns out to be formulaic or ritualistic the value usually is lost. If it is a sacred reminder of the glory of the cross and a challenge to resist this self-centered culture by being Christ-centered and counter-cultural then it is powerfully valuable. I heard a quote recently that was something like "When you move out of the center of the circle everyone is no longer aiming at you." Lent challenges me to see that my contibution to the Kingdom is not what it's about. His is.
Also, my "vote" is of no consequence. Local church leader choose to observe Lent or not. I am not suggesting that anyone needs my endorsement. If they feel it has importance in their church and helps people grow in the Lord, then God bless them. I just haven't been in a church that gave time to Epiphany, Pentecost, or Ordinary time for longer than one Sunday. Lent and Advent always are observed in their entirety.
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