For a large part of my adult life, I have observed Lent. This has typically meant "giving something up that I'm really fond of but it's kind of unhealthy." The first year I gave up soda,
because I felt quasi-addicted. The second year I gave up dessert, because I was hoping to trim up a bit (bad motivation!) Another year, I gave up music, which was constantly playing in my car, in my apartment, and in my office. (Although I did permit music chosen by others, which was even more painful than the silence most times.) Last year, I gave up all forms of caffeine, which induced the most terrible headaches.
Why do I fast for Lent? Because it feels good to give something up. It feels good to take away something in my life I feel like I can't live without and surrender that desire. It's good to realize that caffeine and music aren't my Lords, Jesus is. I love this tangible reminder, and it always fills me with hope and new love for Christ.
This year, my observance of Lent is not going to be about fasting so much as it is going to be about renewing my commitment to the Lord as my first love. Clay has returned home from a weekend of traveling feeling convicted that our relationship needs to be much more diligently focused on the Lord...and fortunately...over the last few weeks, both of us have independently come to the conclusion that we have not been treating the Lord like our King, but more like a button we wear or a box we check.
So during Lent, we are renewing our commitments to the Lord as King of our life, and we are committing to pray and read His word daily. This morning, we started our daily readings out in Lectio Divina style. We began this Lectio Divina using the guided readings in a book called Enjoy the Silence. The book is actually marketed for youth leaders to use with teenagers, but it's application is not limited to teenagers...and we renewed by beginning our day with meditation on God's word.
Our reading this morning was in Luke 8 (The Parable of the Sower). The reading guide in Enjoy the Silence directed us to read through the passage three times, listening for new insights each time we read it...the third time through, we specifically stopped and meditated on the different kinds of soil in the passage, inviting the Lord to reveal to us what kind of soil our hearts most resembled.
It was evident to me that my heart was similar to the seed that "lacks moisture." I could feel my heart as parched and dry. I also got very distracted during our meditation about the seed the grows up in the thorny grounds, and woke up from my daydreaming to realize I was living out my own distraction in the midst of attempting to meditate. I was able to confess my dry and distracted spiritual life to the Lord and invite him to cultivate my heart into something that's ready to grow His word.
It's amazing what 30 minutes in the morning of silence and reading God's word can do to renew my heart. It feels like bringing a cup of cold water to my lips after a long hike in the desert.
I'm excited about what Lent will bring in 2008, and I'm excited to have a partner in my spiritual journey.
What does Lent mean to you? Does this all sound crazy or weird? How do you choose to celebrate Lent, if you do? Why do you think fasting is or isn't important?
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
A New Approach to Lent: Tilling Dry Soil
Posted by hbu at 10:23 AM
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3 comments:
hmb - your approach to Lent this year sounds refreshing and, well, "green." not in the sense of environmentally friendly, but in the sense of inviting new growth, new life, into a place that's been dry and dusty. i definitely relate.
as for me and Lent, having grown up Baptist i really didn't become familiar with the tradition and practice of Lent until a few years ago, but like you i was drawn to it by the challenge to give up something that has risen to a place of false importance in my life...to loosen my grasp on something i think i "need" simply because i've gotten used to its presence.
this year i've decided to repeat a Lenten omission from 2 years back and abandon the radio in my car. more than just shutting out the noise for a few weeks, i want to be intentional with that space and aware of how that silence is filled...with my own thoughts and prayers, with the whisper of the Spirit, even with the ambient noises of urban America and the rumblings of my aging car.
we'll see how it goes. it's day two and the silence is REALLY loud.
HMB,
I have only done lectio divina a few times, but every time it's been a very rich and rewarding practice for me. What a great Lent idea; I hope it is rich and rewarding for you.
xo,
HFN
Hi Heather! Miss you. I got Enjoying the Silence at that workshop we went to last spring. I liked it, but have forgotten aobut ir recently. It really helps figure out new ways to interact with and understand scripture.
As for Lent, I usually forget when it starts and forget to think up something to give up and then by the time I realize it, I feel like it is too late. When I do things like that I want to chose something meaningful and have felt like food and stuff like that isn't super meaningful to give up, but I can't think of anything better, so then I don't do it at all, which is probably worse. And considering my fetishes with ice cream and chocolate and coffee, it would probably be pretty hard for me to give one of those up, so maybe I am trying to avoid this discomfort with other excuses.
This year I tried hard to remember when Lent started and think up somthing "good" and I actually remembered. So I'm giving up buying stuff, aside from groceries and other necessities, with a small exception for postcards. The reason for that is that my parents are here visiting me for two weeks and we are traveling (Venice the last couple days and Vienna right now) so I allowed myself the one exception so I could have some "souvineer" from the trip.
Becca
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