From the Pastor
Each year, when Lent begins, I am reminded of the story of a priest who was accosted by a would-be thief on a dark city street. As the priest nervously reached for his wallet, the thief noticed his clerical collar. “Never mind Father,” he said, “I didn’t realize you were a priest. I’ll just be on my way.” The priest, obviously relieved, reached into his pocket and good-naturedly offered the man a cigar. “No thank you, Father,” he replied, “I gave up smoking for Lent.”
I suppose that is one view of Lent – a season to give up something in the name of sacrifice, and then pretty much live the rest of your life without any significant change. The thief remains a thief, but for forty days he will lay off cigars. I am reminded of a colleague who said that what his father always gave up for Lent was going to church. But surely Lent is more than a season of minor inconvenience. In fact, giving up something for Lent is not a strong tradition in our church or in the United Church of Christ. Lent is a season that invites us to reflect on our lives as we undertake this forty-day journey with Christ to the cross on Calvary. It is a season that confronts us with some hard questions: What keeps me from giving of myself as generously as Jesus gave of himself? Why am I so cautious with my love, so tentative in my faith? In life’s darkest, most difficult moments, in whom or what do I place my trust? When he asks me to follow, as he inevitably will, how will I respond?
What we might give up for Lent really is not the issue. Rather, Lent is about the growing edges of our faith, how the last journey of Christ intersects and challenges our journeys, and how his journey, his faith, his sacrifice and his love might change us. Lent has no patience with accommodation. It is about nothing less than transformation. In the words of Ann Weems, “When Lent comes…we find ourselves in a courtyard where we must answer whether we know him or not.” Gene
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