How many of us eat perfectly healthy diets and get plenty of exercise in our daily life? I don’t know about you, but my doctor doesn’t think I do. Usually it’s a slow build up, over time, of bad habits, and sometimes genetics, that put our life in danger. With high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other signs, that our arteries are getting clogged; some of our hearts aren’t working 100%. We all have weaknesses. We put off exercising or doing the harder work on our never-ending list of chores. And when it comes to eating, we all have our weaknesses there too. I love to eat, especially the foods my Dr. tells me not to. Personally, I’m not sure how these (peeps) survived the drive over her yesterday. They definitely won’t survive the drive home today. These bad habits, if we keep them up, often lead many to an early death.
All this is a good image of why we need this season of Lent. There’s been a slow buildup over time, of our spiritual bad habits as well, our sins. And, here again, we each have our own weaknesses. If we really think about it, we each know what our weaknesses are, the things that cause us to sin, the traps that are the easiest for us to fall into. Here too we have inherited, spiritual genetic deficiencies from our first parents Adam and Eve. And here too, if we don’t acknowledge our personal weaknesses, they can lead to an early spiritual death. The diagnosis is clear: we haven’t loved the Lord with our whole heart, at 100%. This is why the season of Lent is so important to us. These 40 days are an imitation of Jesus’ 40 days in the desert and how he overcame the devil’s temptations. Lent is an invitation for us to try to overcome the temptations and sinfulness in our lives. It’s an invitation to follow Christ out into the desert, to face those temptations that cause us to sin and to ask God for forgiveness. The 1st step in overcoming anything is to admit to the problem. WE need to say “no” to the devil’s temptations and trust in our heavenly Father just like Jesus in the desert.
For centuries, the church has suggested three things that we undertake during Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.
1st we need to set aside time every day to pray. Even more time than we do the rest of the year, if possible. WE live busy lives, and the world puts a lot of emphasis on enjoying life, but a life without prayer, is a life without the joy of the presence of God. When we pray, we touch God.
The 2nd thing the church suggests is fasting. This doesn’t just mean eating less, or watching what we eat, although that is an important part. It also includes the abstinence from meat on Fridays. It’s also a common practice to “Give Up” something for Lent; to abstain from eating or drinking something we really like; or to abstain from doing something we really enjoy. When I was little, we were always asked on Ash Wednesday: “What are you giving up for Lent?” And that usually meant for my sister and I: No candy for the next 40 days. But as I got older, my practice of fasting changed, and I gave up other things; that’s why these little bunnies won’t make it all the way home today. To fast properly, however, we must have the right attitude. We must joyfully participate in the fasting ritual as an act of penance. If we do it grudgingly, that would be like, not committing a particular sin, but wishing that we had.
The 3rd thing the church suggests is almsgiving. Generally speaking, this means giving to the poor or less fortunate. This is true, but almsgiving can take on many forms. Yesterday morning at Palmer Correctional Center after service, one inmate told me he sees his whole time in prison as Lent: the penance he’s doing for his sins. He said he has plenty of time to pray; fasting is very easy, considering the food, and even though it’s not by his choice, he has a proper attitude and understanding of what he has given up, right down to his freedom, and he freely accepts the consequences. But when it comes to almsgiving, he was stumped, inmates don’t make much for wages. We decided almsgiving can mean helping others in other ways besides financially; by whatever their needs may be. Almsgiving can be as simple as being kind to someone, when you would rather not be. For me, this means holding my tongue when I’m in traffic in Anchorage. All of these remind me of what Jesus tells us in Matthew Chapter 25: “Whatever you did to one of the least of these, you did to me.”
So, let’s give thanks to God for this season of healing. Lent is a time for reconciliation, recalling our sins and asking for forgiveness, not just from God, but from others we may have hurt; and also, to forgive others and letting go of grudges or resentments. Let’s follow Christ during Lent with our whole hearts, so that we may be filled with God’s Grace and follow Christ out of the desert to celebrate his resurrection at Easter.