Lent. I never grew up doing much for Lent; didn’t really know what it was actually. I didn’t really even have any Catholic friends, so it has been a relatively new experience for me. Preparation. Seeking. Stirring. Despair. The ashes. The mourning, and finally….the rejoicing as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and defeat of the death that we thought maybe really DID have some sting…but we see Christ’s victory, and are given hope.
Why do we give things up? What is the history behind that? To experience some of Christ’s Passion? But how does giving up chocolate bring us closer to experiencing that…? It seems so trivial. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to come close to experiencing a piece of what Christ went through. But it does as more of a reminder. “Oh…he’s eating chocolate, I’d LOVE to have a Hersheys bar right now…but…okay, WHY am I doing this?? I want to focus on Christ, to focus on the events, the meanings and the emotions that are leading up to this period of rejoicing…” It serves more as a reminder to pray, to meditate and to bring our focus back on Christ. What am I missing from this reading of Lent?
Last year I tried to go through Tickle’s book “Eastertide” with Jen and a few others, but I kept skipping days and it just didn’t work (sorry Jen). This year I didn’t really know what to do, until I was having lunch with friends yesterday and one of my friends said she was going to take a real Sabbath during Lent. So from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, she wasn’t going to do any homework. She could still do “work” but just nothing related to school. Hearing her talk about this, and then realizing all of the stuff that could be done by taking a full day off from school-related work got me kind of excited. I generally feel guilty on Saturdays for not getting enough done, and this would get rid of some of that guilt. I could spend time playing my guitar (which I rarely do anymore), calling friends who I never get a chance to talk with anymore, worshipping, journaling, reading for fun, spending time with friends around here…
So I’m joining her in taking a Sabbath from school-related-work during Lent. And you want to know the funny thing? About an hour into it after lunch yesterday, I started to really want to do my homework, to read the books, to sit down and write the papers. The motivation level was intense; and it’s still carrying through to today, so I’m really excited to do my homework, which is an interesting emotion. I’m excited for this – maybe it’ll carry over after Lent as well; who knows…
…what is everyone else doing for Lent? Giving anything up? Taking anything on? Deconstructing Lent? Or simply resting in the stillness of the liturgical season…
[Thanks Jonny for the ash image]
