Observing Lent

How do you observe the season of Lent? There are several traditional ways of observing the 40 day season that leads up to our celebration of Christ’s resurrection.

Sacrifice: Many Christians observe Lent by giving up something that is special to them. Some give up chocolate or desserts. The youth group is encouraging people to give up texting. Others go without soda or restrict their TV viewing. Whatever it is you give up, the idea is to somehow experience sacrifice. And while most of the things we give up don’t cause us to truly suffer, they do offer a reminder of what it meant for Jesus to sacrifice his life for us.

Intensified Spiritual Practice: The season of Lent was originally a time for those who wanted to be baptized to increase their devotion to God. Sacrifice was a part of this practice. People fasted (went without food for a specified time) and they also sacrificed so they could give more to the poor. In addition to sacrifice they also added time for prayer, devotion and serving those in need. The idea with intensified spiritual practice is to become more Christ-like in our everyday lives. It was hoped that at the end of the 40 days of preparation, those spiritual practices would continue. Easter was not a release from these sacrifices and practices. Easter is about the new life that is formed through them.

Led by the Spirit: The 40 days of Lent are based on Jesus’ experience in the wilderness after his baptism. We are told that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit (actually “expelled” to the wilderness in the Greek). The wilderness is a place of chaos and testing. It is a place where we are not in control.

I think it is interesting that our current Lenten practices encourage us to take more control in our lives when, for Jesus, it was about letting go of control. At the end of the 40 days in the wilderness, Jesus was tempted by Satan to take control of his life and his destiny. Instead, Jesus let God remain in control. He would take no shortcuts. He would not force God’s hand.

What would it look like for us if we were led by the Spirit through the 40 days of Lent? What would it be like if we were not in control?  What would it be like to experience the hunger of a fast and suffer alongside the millions of people who are hungry every day? What would it be like for Christians to stop trying to build the Kingdom of God through a political process and, instead, became servants of the least deserving people? What if we gave up the notion that if we just pray more, give more or worship more then God will have to ease our suffering or bless us in some other way?

Being led by the Spirit means being led into suffering. Not in some sadistic, self-effacing way or in some attempt at delayed glory. The Spirit leads us into suffering for some other reason. 

Perhaps this is what I'm being led to explore during Lent. We'll see.