I have been aware of the season of Lent for as long as I can remember. As a child I remember people talking about it being the time that you gave up chocolate before Easter.  In my mind, you wouldn’t eat  it so that when you got all the candy on Easter morning, you wouldn’t gain too much weight.
Over the years I have come to understand the whole deal a bit better. 🙂 Â I have come to understand the 40-day period of fasting, prayer, generosity and scripture reading as something that is much more robust than something that keeps us trim. Â A period that was symbolically set at the 40 days prior to Easter after the period of time that Jesus was in the wilderness fasting and preparing for his earthly ministry to begin. Â Simply put,and likely overly simply put, we take these days to reflect and consider what Christ did in his life, death and resurecttion. Â We prepare our hearts for what needs to be the biggest day on a follow of Christ’s calendar, the day he phyically showed that even death wasn’t strong enough to hold him. Â Even death has been overcome.
But I cannot think of the last time that I felt led by the Lord to give anything up for it. Â I don’t belong to a denomination or group of churches that mandates engaging in this process. Â So, while most years I would spend time to prepare for the resurrection of Jesus, I never fully engaged the season. Â I just never sensed that God would telling me to and so I chose not to.
This year is different. Â And I cannot fully tell you why.
I know some things that are likely part of it. Â Last month marked my fifteenth year on staff with [nlcf], and in a few weeks I will turn forty. Â Both are things that draw you to a reflective place. (And that make you feel old!) Â Also, for three months this summer our church’s board has approved my taking a sabbatical to rest/reflect and also to write. Â Again, something that begs a period of self-consideration.
The questions I am asking myself right now are:
There are plenty of others, but those give me enough trouble for now!
Hence… my celebration of the season of Lent. Â You in?
Over the course of Lent I am going to be posting a some prayers from a book that a good friend of mine, John Chandler, recently gave me. Â It was written by Stanley Hauerwas and titled, Prayers Simply Spoken. Â John will no doubt be almost as excited to be tagged in my post as he was when his alma mater UNC beat Duke for the ACC Championship a few days ago! Or, maybe not quite…
But back to Hauerwas… I have found that when I am trying to reflect, that having something to help guide me (either the entire time or just at first) is a very helpful thing. Â So, I will be posting simple prayers of his and if you would like, you can take them as I do, and cut and paste them into your calendar – or, if you are quaint enough to still use paper, then you can write it out – and then reflect on them throughout your day.
Either way, tomorrow it begins. Â Come on Lent… Bring it!
Peace, Jim
Jim Pace » A stroll through Lent… » author of the book Should We Fire God said...
1[…] I shared yesterday, I am getting in on this Lent bandwagon. Â I am actually very excited about the chance to focus the […]
03/9/11 8:29 AM | Comment Link
Jim Pace » Lent… Day Two… » author of the book Should We Fire God said...
2[…] post is a continuation of a series for those who, like me, would like to engage the season of Lent in a meaningful way, but who, like […]
03/10/11 8:32 AM | Comment Link
Jim Pace » Lent… Day four… » author of the book Should We Fire God said...
3[…] I shared earlier, I am getting in on this Lent bandwagon.  I am actually very excited about the chance to focus the […]
03/12/11 9:00 AM | Comment Link
Jim Pace » Lent… Day five… » author of the book Should We Fire God said...
4[…] I shared earlier, I am getting in on this Lent bandwagon.  I am actually very excited about the chance to focus the […]
03/13/11 9:07 AM | Comment Link
Jim Pace » Lent… Day six… » author of the book Should We Fire God said...
5[…] I shared earlier, I am getting in on this Lent bandwagon.  I am actually very excited about the chance to focus […]
03/14/11 10:02 AM | Comment Link
Jim Pace » Lent… Day seven… » author of the book Should We Fire God said...
6[…] I shared earlier, I am getting in on this Lent bandwagon.  I am actually very excited about the chance to focus […]
03/15/11 9:26 AM | Comment Link