Lent for non religious types…like me

Lent, the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter, has always been a weird time for me. I really never knew what to do; and what not to do. It’s confusing. Not doing it makes me wonder at times if I’m really not a very good Christian. Doing it makes me wonder if I’m doing it wrong… like so many other things in my life.

But this year I’m doing it! And I guess it’s up to God to tap me on the shoulder or whisper in my ear and let me know that I’m screwing it up. So far, it’s working. I understand now that it is one of those few things that is done best when you talk about it the least. I do it to enhance the inside; not the outside. In fact, that really is how much of faith is supposed to operate. All of us need some help with that one. It grows my gratitude for, and my devotion to, God.

Lent is primarily a six week time of abstinence. Abstinence is not something our culture does well. We’re much better at gluttony, self-absorption, and compulsivity. I suppose that’s why we not only have lent, but Easter and the cross. Our penchant for self-absorption is why period of absence is a really healthy thing. Many people use lent as a time of abstinence from meat, sugar, driving over the speed limit, or Doritos. What I am trying to abstain from his self-absorption itself.

Through lent, and for that matter, through the rest of my life…I want to be less consumed with my desires, my timelines, my rights, and my comfort. This six-week period is really about Jesus turning his attention from his ministry in the Galilee and heading towards Jerusalem; and the cross. He knew what was coming. Lent, and for that matter, the entirety of Jesus’s life, was about setting aside his desires, his timeline, his rights, and his comfort. He did that for me. And so, if my desire is really to be just a little bit more like him, Lent is the perfect way to focus as I prepare to celebrate Easter.

Celebrating Easter is not just about the hour that you spend in church on Easter morning or the sugar high you get from the Peeps you devour on the way to that church service. It’s about developing a really deep appreciation for every step of that journey Jesus took from Nazareth to Jerusalem. I’ve made that trip by car down the Jordan valley to Jerusalem many times. And every time I do it, I wonder how many times he thought about turning around and doing something else with his life. Maybe it never occurred to him, but it would have to me.

But lent for me is about every time he decided not to turn around. It’s about developing a deeper sense of awe at his willingness to go the distance for us odd creatures. He felt like it was worth it. He felt like I was worth it… and you. It’s a beautiful part of the gloriously human condition. God stopping on a rocky dusty trail through the Jordan valley and thinking about you and me; and smiling. It makes Easter so much more valuable for me. How about you? What is lent about for you? I’d love to hear your reaction below.