Lent

We were asked if we would do something on Lent at a school assembly and it got me thinking about the concept of Lent. It seems the idea behind Lent has gotten somewhat lost along the way.

I wondered now if it would be better for us to take up something extra rather than giving something up. One of the most popular misconceptions about Christians is that they are dour and dull and that becoming a Christian would mean giving up on so much of life, on so much of what I enjoy.

My hunch is that Lent simply fuels such wrong beliefs as lots of people give up chocolate or sweet things. Instead why not use it to focus on Easter. Come up with a forty day reading programme and instead of giving up for Lent why not take up an (or an extra) quiet time for the forty days of Lent. In that time it would be easily possible to read all the gospel accounts of the passion week and some of the Old Testament background to them.

Or why not take up serving the community you live among. Think of something small you can do every day to share with those you work or live among the love of God that Easter is all about. Take cakes into work, offer to make the coffee, whatever, find a way to serve for Lent.

Easter is all about Jesus willing sacrifice for us, to save us from God's righteous anger and judgement and restore us to right relationship with our loving heavenly Father. The question is how at Lent am I going to show that to those around me, how am I going to prepare myself for remembering and celebrating his death and resurrection.