Happy (?!) Lent
I know, I am a day late on this one.
It seems that Lent is for the "in" crowd this year. Flipping through some TV channels yesterday, I noticed the mark of the cross in ash on the foreheads of several people. One of the guys on Crossfire had one, and then somebody else on ESPN's Around the Horn. OK, so maybe those two examples do not necessarily make Ash Wednesday an "in" thing. Did anybody see Paris Hilton yesterday? Snoop? American Idol? Report your own ash sighting here.
As a symbol of repentance, I am not sure that an ashy forehead will ever become too popular. And since most people associate it with Catholicism, there are two big strikes against it (see: John Kerry). Most Protestants look at the ashes as a mark of the beast. And that is too bad, because Lent has more to offer than an end to Mardi Gras.
This year I am going to be reading Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way during Lent. I think I am going to take this whole "40 days of repentance and meditation" seriously for once and see where it takes me on Easter. There is just something about the concept of a church calendar that appeals to me. Giving our time to the church should mean much more than showing up on Sunday morning or getting involved in various projects. It could also mean ordering our lives in such a way that the full reality of Easter can capture our hearts and minds. Instead of merely living day to day until Easter, we can participate in the season of redemption as it grows closer.
I am only preaching a little bit. I am really planning on using this blog to keep myself accountable to the season. So, here it is. In writing. For all to see. I invite you all to join me, publicly or privately.
Faithful God, trusting in you,
we begin
the forty days of conversion and penance.
Give us the strength for Christian discipline,
that we may renounce evil
and be decisive in doing good.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
It seems that Lent is for the "in" crowd this year. Flipping through some TV channels yesterday, I noticed the mark of the cross in ash on the foreheads of several people. One of the guys on Crossfire had one, and then somebody else on ESPN's Around the Horn. OK, so maybe those two examples do not necessarily make Ash Wednesday an "in" thing. Did anybody see Paris Hilton yesterday? Snoop? American Idol? Report your own ash sighting here.
As a symbol of repentance, I am not sure that an ashy forehead will ever become too popular. And since most people associate it with Catholicism, there are two big strikes against it (see: John Kerry). Most Protestants look at the ashes as a mark of the beast. And that is too bad, because Lent has more to offer than an end to Mardi Gras.
This year I am going to be reading Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way during Lent. I think I am going to take this whole "40 days of repentance and meditation" seriously for once and see where it takes me on Easter. There is just something about the concept of a church calendar that appeals to me. Giving our time to the church should mean much more than showing up on Sunday morning or getting involved in various projects. It could also mean ordering our lives in such a way that the full reality of Easter can capture our hearts and minds. Instead of merely living day to day until Easter, we can participate in the season of redemption as it grows closer.
I am only preaching a little bit. I am really planning on using this blog to keep myself accountable to the season. So, here it is. In writing. For all to see. I invite you all to join me, publicly or privately.
Faithful God, trusting in you,
we begin
the forty days of conversion and penance.
Give us the strength for Christian discipline,
that we may renounce evil
and be decisive in doing good.
We ask this through Jesus Christ.
posted by matt at 8:16 AM
3 Comments:
Yeah, what's up with the cross thing? A prof here had one yesterday. I've never seen them before, though I know of many who regularly follow Lent.
I was raised with no real knowledge of Lent, nor Advent... Now that I work in a methodist church, these things are a bit more important, I guess. I remember sitting in Theology w/ Dr. McWilliams (Anyone??? Anyone??) when he gave a brief lecture on how Christians today don't really pay any real attention to the calendar like God's people did in the Old Testament. I thought that was kind of odd... I mean God called for certain celebrations of him that had very specific things for us to remember about His character... now it's just Xmas, Easter, and Communion every now and then.
I saw that Nouwen book on Lent a few weeks ago and was curious, but I didn't have any money on me to get it... I loved Nouwen's "In Jesus Name" (If you haven't read it, you MUST!!! It's a very quick read... like one afternoon), so as you go through "Show Me the Way", or when you're finished, post what you thought of the book for me, will ya?
(Sorry... the book was "In the Name of Jesus")
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