What is the Season of Lent All About?
Life Following the Prince of Peace
In a way, Lent is all about Jesus, how he stayed strong in the Lord throughout his lifetime. He rose above the struggles and temptations in the Wilderness to accept the call to be the Messiah. In a way, Lent is all about Jesus, who consistently showed us the depth of God’s love for us. Yes, in a way, Lent is all about Jesus, who walked through the days of his ministry, walking always toward the ultimate sacrifice of death on the cross.
Which reminds me, of course, of John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish buthave eternal life.” Because of love.
What a gift that is: Love. Eternal Life. As awesome as those gifts are, they are not the only gifts he gave us.
Yes, in a way Lent is all about Jesus. But in another way, Lent is all about us. What will our response be to His Love, and his lavish abundance of gifts poured into our hearts. These gifts are ours to have and to hold, to serve him and others with compassion and peace. What are some of those other gifts? The gift of strength in temptation, the grace of righteousness, the gift of having no guile or deceitfulness, the gift of forgiveness, of an ever deepening faith and trust. The gift of a holy community to be part of, the community called the Body of Christ. The gift of no less than the Mind of Christ.
Yes, Lent is about us, what we do with His gifts, about what we do as a love response to His Love. Lent is about how we live into our discipleship. Here are some of the things we can offer: Engage in Bible Study as a discipline. Have you fallen away somewhat from a meaningful prayer life? Engage in an ongoing daily conversation with the Lord, with a continual listening in your heart for guidance and wisdom from the Holy Spirit. Place your heart in His heart.
I’m fixing to talk about a different religion for just a few minutes, which may surprise some of you a bit, but then I’ll bring it back into Christianity.
This past week, a walk for peace ended, a peace walk that took 109 days, that started in Ft. Worth, TX and ended in Washington DC, and which culminated in the peace-walkers being welcomed to the National Cathedral. Perhaps some of you saw it on the news. Who was it that made that walk? Buddhist monks walked 2300 miles! It took them 15 weeks of walking daily, through all kinds of weather. They did it to bring peace with them, with every step they took.
I watched the event at the National Cathedral on YouTube and listened to the monk who spoke. He taught the thousands and thousands of people who had gathered, a simple way to live in peace, one day at a time, one moment at a time. This is what to do when you first wake up every morning. Left hand over heart. Right hand over left hand. Take a deep breathe. Again. And again. Then say, “Today is going to be my peaceful day.” He said to practice it daily, many times during the day.
I have expanded this practice. How about adding, “Today is going to be my grace filled day.” Today is going to be my forgiving day.” Today is going to be my compassionate day.” “Today is going to be my ‘no guile’ day.”
Returning to the original statement given by the Buddhist monk, but adding a couple of words: “Today is going to be my peaceful day in Christ.”
When it comes right down to it, Lent is a season of reflection on growing deeper in Christ, who is the Prince of Peace. Lent holds deep hope for each of us and for the world. Let us ask the Lord how He wants us to live into that hope this year, this month, this Lent, this day, this moment, this breath.