News Redeemer Spring
Lent literally means “spring,” as in the season that follows on the heels of winter. Can I get an “alleluia” on the thought of spring arriving this year? The thought of Lent arriving does not usually bring quite the same joy as spring, but perhaps that is because it is somewhat misunderstood.
The Latin and Greek roots for the word Lent mean “forty days,” which reminds us of the Israelites 40 day journey in the wilderness and Jesus’ forty day journey and fast, in which he was tested by the devil. Lent is our 40 day journey towards Easter, in which we are invited to consider how God had been journeying towards us.
Easter, not Christmas, is the central celebration of Christian faith, the season in which we remember Christ’s resurrection and all the glorious promise that has for our lives. And like any righteous celebration, Easter needs preparation time. No good party happens without a lot of elbow grease and work. So during Lent we roll up our sleeves, and trust that with God’s help we may look inward so that with God’s help our lives might be ready to receive this incredible approaching joy. For this reason Lent has been a time to observe practices such as fasting, prayer, and increased worship. Do not mistake Lent as a time to take up an overdue change in diet regime or another New Year’s resolution to visit the gym. Caring for God’s temple is important and eating more veggies and less soda pop may be the right choice for me, but Lent is less about us, and more about God preparing room within us for God’s celebration, the great high feast that is to come.
Thinking along these lines, perhaps one’s Lenten discipline might include volunteer work at a local shelter as a way to think more about others and less about oneself. Or maybe I buy less desert not to lose weight but in order to set that money aside and send it to a relief agency in Rwanda, or Libya, or Indonesia (www.ldr.org is consistently among the highest rated agencies in the world). Or maybe I add a visit to a nursing home or a walk with a friend to hold me accountable in a friendly way to my efforts to pray more regularly. And if Lent will include eating less or eating differently, then make sure to couple prayers with these choices, such as “Lord, as I do not eat such and such, may I be reminded of all that you went without, even suffering death so that I might have new life. May these practices draw me closer to you.” Lent is about discovering how God is seeking to turn the soil of our lives so that we may be ready, with God’s help, to share in the great high feast of new life, resurrected life. Resurrected life is not status quo life. It takes effort, even while we must always lean heavily upon the grace of God.
What is spring without rain? What is spring without planting seeds and saplings? Much of what is planted will not grow to bear fruit for months, even years. Lent, the springtime of our Christian faith, is a time for our inner soil to be turned, a time in which our lives are opened once again to be ready for the great feast of victory for our Lord, for Jesus Christ who is Alpha and Omega, beginning, middle and end. For in Christ we are a new creation, behold, everything old has passed away (II Cor. 5:17).
From Pastor Tobias Anderson
