Tuesday, March 07, 2006

The Season of Lent

More and more American born, protestant churches are starting to realize the beauty and benefit of the Christian liturgical calendar. The purpose of the liturgical calendar is to relive events in Jesus' life in real time. The Christian year starts with the season of Advent in late November or early December and ends with a special Thanksgiving Day service.

As many of you know, we are in the midst of Lent. Lent consists of 40 days and if observed, it is an attempt to imagine what it must have been like for Jesus to withdraw into the wilderness. It is a season of soul-searching and a time of repentance. It is a time to reflect and a time to evaluate. Lent prepares us for the celebration of Easter so that we can fully participate in the Good News of the risen Lord.

I started practicing Lent while in seminary. During my first Lent I decided to give up watching TV. I totally forgot that March Madness was just around the corner. D'oh! It was then that my fasting from TV took on more depth. I was glad to realize that most western churches believe that Sundays are inappropriate days to fast and are thus not counted in the 40 days of Lent. In other words, I watched a lot of b-ball on Sundays during that first Lent.

Last year I fasted from lunches and spent that time praying for our unborn son, Ira. I remember vividly those quite moments spent in a nearby church's sanctuary begging God to allow Ira to live.

This year I'm not practicing Lent as an individual. But as a community, Christ's Church for Brooklyn is. We, as a community, have decided to give up a meal at a restaurant or a movie or a play or some non-necessity that we would generally spend money on and instead pool our resources and buy travel size toiletries for a nearby, Brooklyn shelter. The Sunday after Easter, instead of meeting for a worship service, we'll hike over to the shelter and deliver the fruits of our communal Lenten exercise and in so doing, we will worship God.

Have any of you practiced the discipline of Lent? What was your experience like? And, if you were to give yourself to the practice of Lent, what would be hard for you to give up?

7 Comments:

Blogger Sarah said...

This year I have given up all books except the Bible. It is ridiculous that I will re-read a book that I have read a million times and yet I avoid the Bible. Also a lot of my reading is not wholesome, and it takes away from my kid-time. It is hard, but I hope that I will draw closer to God because of it.

8:47 AM  
Blogger Chel said...

We live in Louisiana, which is heavy with Catholic influences. Lent is one of my favorite events in our church, and I love that every time I find myself wishing for whatever it is I give up each year, I am reminded of how very much Christ gave up for me. It makes my silly yearnings seem so much more trivial. And it reminds me of the beauty and love in the sacrifices Christ made for me.

It's embarassing to admit (considering I'm a mother in my mid-30s), but I gave up candy this year. And I love Easter candy.

And for the record, down here, we don't skip Sundays. :)

9:35 AM  
Blogger Dana M. said...

Growing up in Louisiana, (in a C of C)I was always around other Christians that practiced these events, but I didn't really learn about them until I went to college. Once I understood the significance of Lent, and everything surrounding it, it became a precious part of my faith. I have celebrated Lent for several years in a variety of ways, and always the hard part about it has been explaining it to fellow C of C-flavored Christians. They think Mardi Gras is only evil and they think the sacrifice of Lent is a bit too "high church." That has always made me struggle with what I chose to give up even more. It was so hard to keep explaining it to people when they noticed something different about my behavior or choices. I even tried to come up with more private ways to practice Lent, so that I wouldn't have to explain things anymore.

I don't recommend that option, either. It wasn't meant to be hidden like that. Humility and secrecy are two different worlds. I've come back around the circle now, and I have more confidence in my own faith. I don't mind so much if Christians I love and trust question my methods on this point anymore. It's just another aspect of how I can offer up feeble attempts at bringing Him glory through service. What a great question to ask on the blog!

We are continuing to pray for Ira here in Atlanta, and it was good to hear wonderful news and see beautiful family pictures. Thanks for coming back to the blog. Your spiritual insights and interesting questions were greatly missed.

11:13 AM  
Blogger sirEller said...

I don't even want to write this, b/c it will mean I will have to go through with it. But what I struggle to give up is diet coke. The lifeblood of my day. And in return I would drink water. But the implication of this "sacrifice" is that I am flushing my body of impurities and filling it with what I need.
Much like my spiritual walk. There is so much "filth, and dark water" taking up the space where the "living water" should dwell". So there you have it, brother. I will give up DietCoke for Lent, and pray over these next few weeks leading up to Easter for that renewal to take place in my heart as well.
steve

11:15 AM  
Blogger Peggy N Texas said...

I tried to explain to a co-worker, Catholic, why we don't practice Lent. It was a fumbling way of telling him that we try to do it in our every day lives all the time, but fail miserably most of the time.

I don't have a problem with Lent, but I do have a problem with Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday rituals here, in Southeast Texas and the whole partying aspect turn my stomach and have turned me off to Lent for some time, because I don't want to participate in that type of "got to do it while I can" attitude. So...I would like to be more Lent oriented all the time....thinking of ways to practice lent in my everyday life!

1:41 PM  
Blogger The Root said...

As always, Mr. Hays, a phenomenal idea. :)
The most difficult thing to give up right now in my life: I kid you not, buffalo wings.
I have them several times a week and am quite addicted to their meatiness and spicy, delectable goodness.
But, I'm not giving those up. Nope, I'm not.
I gave up my wife for a year.
I think that counts as a catch-all.

By the way, man, that kid is adorable. Ira's gonna be a PLAYAH!!!

8:17 PM  
Blogger happytheman said...

I started Lent a few years ago when my old high school friend and I hooked up. He always gave up something for Lent so I decided to support him one year (90) and have since followed the calendar since. I like you gave up TV one year (and again this year) knowing full well that I was going to miss March Madness. But the preparation and effort it took for me to be disciplined paid dividends. But remembering the Lent is not about giving up but giving in to God was the most rewarding part of the season. Time spent in prayer, in a spiritual book and in scripture instead of time spent watching the tele was fresh. Celebrating a fast and trusting God to place a new song on my heart was rewarding. The last couple of years I fell back into a discipline and not a joy so I added some help this year by attending the local Episcopal Church that offers Lenten classes on fasting, prayer, etc. The rector said last Sunday that you either pack your lunch or go home for lunch, take the money you save from buying lunch and give it to the homeless shelter. We can feed them 3 meals for the one you buy. Humbles you awfully quick.

2:54 PM  

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