on lent

 

This week marks the beginning of the season of Lent in the church calendar. Lent is a 40 day long season typically observed with fasting and prayer, in an effort to prepare for the celebration of Easter. I’m of two minds about lent. I think there’s a lot to be said for tradition, for giving up chocolate or red meat or whatever just because that’s what Christians have been doing for hundreds of years and continue to do today. There’s a sense of connection with my heritage (not so much the Mennonite or evangelical parts, in this case, but the bigger Christian heritage) that comes with observing the rituals that have been passed down, regardless of their reasons.I also think there’s value in a little bit of fasting – be it a full fast or simply a lent-style giving up one or two things. I think we can gain a lot of perspective when we are forced to re-evaluate things that we take for granted, and when we interrupt our sometimes unintentional routine in order to reflect on our worldview and our selves.   

On the other hand, maybe it’s just that I’ve seen Chocolat one too many times, but something about self-denial for the sake of faith really rubs me the wrong way. I guess I’m just reacting against the dualism I’ve so often encountered – the idea that the more of ‘this world’ I reject, the more I focus only on my ideas about Christ, the more spiritual I will be. I don’t believe that anymore, and I don’t want to behave as though I do. I agree with Pere Henri in Chocolat, at the end of the movie when he sticks it to the Comte:

I’m not sure what the theme of my homily today ought to be. Do I want to speak of the miracle of Our Lord’s divine transformation? Not really, no. I don’t want to talk about His divinity. I’d rather talk about His humanity. I mean, you know, how He lived His life, here on Earth. His kindness, His tolerance… Listen, here’s what I think. I think that we can’t go around… measuring our goodness by what we don’t do. By what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think… we’ve got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create… and who we include.

I think the common theme between choosing to focus on kindness and tolerance or giving up chocolate and coffee, is that we choose to be intentional for 40 days, in a way that we might not during other parts of the year. For lent, whether you choose to give up or to embrace, I would encourage you to be intentional about prayer, about reflection, about considering what kind of preparations or changes might need to be made in your mind and heart as we look to celebrate the victory of the kingdom of God over death.