Pastor's Message
                                                                                           

SPIRIT STEPS-March 2009

LENT – A SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE

 The Lutheran Book of Worship describes Lent as a time of repentance, fasting, prayer and works of love.  Lent is often experienced as a time of reflection, of soul searching, of looking inward; and certainly the discipline of Lent encompasses all of this.  The problem I see, however, is that all these words carry so much negative baggage that the true purpose of Lent becomes grossly distorted.   Instead of taking the time to deepen our spirituality, Lenten practices often further distance us from our spiritual nature. 

Most people who have been in the church for a while know that repentance means to turn around.  In the Christian context it means to turn from something that is destroying life to something that is life-giving.  Yet I suspect that when these same people hear that Lent is a time for repentance, they believe that they should feel sorry for something they have done.  For example, having enjoyed one’s self at a party when a family member or friend lays ill in a hospital bed, one should repent.  This individual should feel sorry (bad) for enjoying the party.  The list of sins, or actions, of which should be repented, is inexhaustible and Lent in this context becomes a draining, self-depreciating exercise in futility.   Instead of Lent being a time of turning from death to life, it becomes a time of dying even more.  Instead of Lent being a time of spiritual development, it becomes a time of spiritual decay.

Fasting is another of those practices that, when perverted, drains rather than gives life to the spirit.  Fasting, in the best context, is a discipline that enhances meditation; a discipline that helps one focus on the spirit.  For many, however, fasting becomes an end in itself; a way of punishing the body, or atoning for the sins that one has committed.    

In the church, we are stuck for the present time with language that carries a lot of unwanted baggage.  Yet we need not adopt destructive, self-depreciating practices to repent.   If we do some soul searching, we can atone and still reject those distortions that drag us down and suck the life from our souls.   Use this time of Lent to release the guilt and shame that so often destroys the spirit. 

Lent, like Advent, is a time of preparation.  Let us prepare ourselves in ways that enrich rather than detract from our faith.  A regular practice of meditation and prayer, with or without fasting, will enhance our ability to listen and strengthen our relationship with God.

Let us use the season of Lent to free ourselves from the baggage of the past and truly prepare for the New Life that awaits us with the Easter dawn.  May the practices you develop on your Lenten journey deepen your faith and strengthen your spirit.

 

Pastor Bob