It's That Time of Year

It seems that nobody knows what Christianity is about anymore. Everyone argues about best practices, relevancy, and doctrine.…and in many cases, I am right there with them. Both sides of Christianity (liberals and conservatives) are hurling subtle attacks at each other…and again, in many cases I am guilty. Maybe at times, I’m leading the pack.

As I read through the Psalms today, the contrite, broken spirit spoke volumes to me. I thought, “here, this wreck of a man, this adulterer, this humble sinner is who YHWH chose to lead a nation, this flawed man was the chosen progenitor of the Christ.

And this led me to think about the season of Lent, which is now upon us. My first taste of Lent was at Trinity Lutheran School in the 5th grade. The non-denominational church my parents attended traded tradition for relevancy, so I had missed out on this, besides the Pączki my Polish grandmother brought over on fat Tuesday.

In my opinion, the Lenten tradition, while bleeding of history and tradition is a beautiful reminder of what Christianity is about. Lent, in the words of Fr. William Saunders, “is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter.” St. Ireneaus, defender of Christianity against the Gnostic heresy, spoke highly of the practice in just 203 C.E.! (for more history on Lent, click here)

This year I am going to engage myself in the Season; something I have never done. Traditionally, Christians gave up food, so I too am following suit. After thought and prayer, I am giving up all forms of meat throughout the process, and I am going to focus on all aspect mentioned above by Saunders. I hope throughout this I will be reminded of why I choose the path I choose, and to be less of a Laodocean (see previous blog).

As I was driving home and reflecting these Lyrics floated out of my Nissan’s speakers: Love is not a victory march…It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah. If isolated from the rest of the song’s context I thought, “I want this to be my attitude this Lenten season, from start, and especially at completion”

Want to join me? What might you sacrifice?