Growing up Protestant, I didn’t have personal experience regarding the celebration of lent. My limited exposure to the honoring of this season was as a child wondering why a few of my school friends had ashes on their foreheads and trying to solve the mystery behind not eating meat on Fridays. Though it was explained to me many times, I struggled with understanding the meaning behind it. This was reinforced by judgmental attitudes from those chums who were “giving up something for Lent” or by the envy of others when they realized I wasn’t faced with making any Ash Wednesday sacrifices that would last until Easter. As I have grown in my faith, I have had the wonderful joy of sharing my faith with many others from different denominations.
Though we may worship and practice our faith externally differently, the common bond among true believers is not a religion but a relationship with the living Christ and the sacrifice He paid for sin to restore us to God the Father. I am thankful to say I have come a long way in understanding the Lenten season and the powerful spiritual focus it can bring to the life of a follower of Christ. I have a close friend who is totally devoted to Christ but grew up in a different denomination. He is always teasing me, asking me what I am giving up for Lent. I laugh and say as a Baptist; I am called to live a sacrificial life year-round, and we both chuckle. Neither of us is offended as we understand the cross casts a long shadow over our thinking as we strive to have the mind of Christ. We understand that though we may differ in our liturgy, the inward focus remains the common bond.
When I began to take a closer look at the 40 day period of Lent, I began asking fellow believers of other denominations what did they value most of this observance. Over and over, one of the common denominators was the report of enhanced joy it brought to the meaning of Easter. One friend shared it took what she felt had been a corporate religious holiday and transformed it into a personal celebration of the love God had for her and the renewal promise that comes with Easter. Another friend shared that his observance always leads him to evaluate his personal conduct considering it is a personal sin that Christ died for. This guy blessed me with his testimony of how a Lenten focus leads him to rediscover the goodness of God and the length God was willing to go to demonstrate it. He says this challenges him to renew his commitment to sharing the goodness of God with others in a world that is growing increasingly hostile to the teachings of Christ. Many shared it is a time of fasting and prayer in remembrance of the sufferings of our Savior.
As folks shared with me, I came away with this thought that God placed on my heart, the pursuit of sacred passion.
The idea of anything sacred has certainly been impacted by our culture. We have seen churches and synagogues bombed and destroyed, martyrs massacred for their faith. American flags burned, innocent children trafficked and used for perverse pleasure. We witnessed a young columbine student be shot by merely answering yes to a question regarding her faith in Jesus. So much tragedy and disregard that sometimes all that seems left is a sacred shudder over all that is lost. But an observance and reflection on Jesus’ last 40 days leading up to the cross, the 40 days of His temptation, His painful death, and resurrection can renew our hope. It can encourage us there is still the incorruptible and that God’s purposes though challenged, prevail and conquer evil. The words of one of my favorite hymns, “Near to the heart of God,” says it like this…
“There is a place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God, a place where sin cannot molest, near to the heart of God.” I have found that a Lenten focus can redirect my thinking and energy to rediscover this sacred place.
As for passion, this is a word that has morphed into so many disguises; it’s hard for me to regard it in its truest meaning. The dictionary defines it as 1. a strong and barely controllable emotion and 2. the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. When I look at these together, I understand that observance of Lent can marry these definitions together.
It can be a time where I can focus on the redemptive work of Christ and all that He endured. I can take the time to allow my heart to experience the passion that His sacrifice evokes deep inside me and the humility and gratitude it can foster. I can once again experience the passionate love God had and still has for me, which in turn fans the flame of my love for Christ. Though faith is more than feelings, it is not void of emotion either. The Holy Spirit is the manifestation of faith, but emotion certainly is part of its expression.
If you were to follow me around, look at my calendar, my checkbook, track my downtime, it wouldn’t take you long to figure out what I am passionate about. You might be surprised that things like writing, fellowshipping with friends, cooking, and cleaning would occupy my affections. Cleaning? Yes, I like to clean and organize. But how far would you have to go, or how deep would you have to look to see my passion for God? I ask myself frequently, what was the sum total of today’s investment? How much accomplished for me, how much for God and the people He loves? As I mature in my faith, I recognize as I move more to Christ-mindedness, God and I will more and more have the same to-do list in the daily. I need to know the margin of intention in my life versus relying on response to things that come my way. You know, the” if it comes my way, I will help, but until then, I got stuff to do” mentality. If I just sit back and wait for the passion to overcome me to heighten my spiritual experience, it just isn’t going to happen. I have to ask myself, am I pursuing God with even a portion of the passion that He pursues me? If not, why? God says in Rev 2:4, “but I have this complaint against you, you don’t love me or each other as you did at first” NLT.
For me, beginning this observance of this 40 day passion period can help me recalculate and synchronize my heart. It can stir me out of my apathy and spur me to search out the passion of Christ. It can be a great time to pursue renewal and shed the cynical pessimism that has eroded my thinking. It can serve to remind me that though life right now seems a lot like a dark Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Christ is our Overcomer. In a personal lent, I can be led by God to practice liturgy. The definition of the liturgy in the original Greek is “work of the people.” I can work at pursuing a sacred time rendered in a sacred place.
Please come to the vineyard as the 5 o’clock worker examines the Passion of Grace.
5oclockworker.com 