Here We Go Again—Lent —Dr. James Henery

Fact is, we can’t easily get to Easter without spending time in and with Lent. And once again, with Ash Wednesday next week, here we go again.

In some ways the beginning of Lent is a peculiar interval asking those who believe to practice some extraordinary tasks. Mardi Gras aside, many of us don’t see this as a festive time, just the end of winter.

Even though Lent, an 11th century English word meaning lengthening, traditionally means seven weeks before Easter and based on the position of the moon meaning it could be early or late, there’s little new about what Christians are supposed to do now. Still, Ash Wednesday remains a spiritually solemn day for those who made an almost pilgrim-like journey that began in the fourth century.

And in those early days, a scroll went forth from the fifth canon of the Council of Nicea that it was a good idea to fast one meal a day and attempt to simulate Jesus' 40-day temptation in the wilderness. Spiritually, Lent was to become a time of penitence and self-renewal. Others, with church wit, call it "giving-up-something."

Many of us grew up and went through our own wildernesses attempting to be ecclesiastically creative—not necessarily better, certainly not perfect—with both penitence and “gave it up for Lent.” Usually we sacrificed what we didn't want to do or liked to eat and regarded it as a major change.

One year it was chocolate. Some gave up vegetables or ironing clothes or taking out the dog or doing homework, etc. My former high school and college students would often say that swearing, fast food and Girl Scout cookies were on their sacrificial plates. Dating was not on the list.

The basics here were supposed to be related to self-denial, and then a more serious and proper type, i.e. pastor, priest or aunt, would intervene and tell us to "grow up, you aren't funny."

Then it was week two ... and in 30-plus days, it would be over and maybe, just maybe, we would have contritely reflected on our situation in life, diet, the world and even our faith. With Easter, the fast would cease, and we could get on again with living, minus the denial clause and the purple paraments.

Beyond the humor and inane sacrifices, Lent seemed to be an experience that, although we didn't want to go through or felt we needed, possibly bestowed some benefits on all who tried it. Easter arrived with more purpose than just new clothes or the annual spring checkup visit at the local church. A better sense of direction and awareness emerged out of the late winter months, and our wilderness had metamorphosed into hope, albeit diffused among the ashes of discontent.

We just knew that if we could get through some of those lugubrious and slow hymns, the best and brightest tunes could be sung 46 days Former College of Wooster president Howard Lowry in a 1948 spring chapel service said (in a collection of chapel talks): "Out of some standard of eternal worth we can judge the conflicting bids for our attention—the plethora of empty stimuli, the whole elaborate quackery of the flimsy, the hectic, and the useless."

Perhaps that’s the subtle message of what Lenten is about: finding substance, finding faith, finding ourselves. Please join us during this season. The enclosed Easter letter provides a calendar of happenings.

Lenten Practices —Rev. Alice Tewell

The liturgical season of Lent is an intentional time of reflection and repentance; a time to contemplate who we are, and naming the change needed to transform not just ourselves but the world around us. It is a time of journey. It is a time to ask: What does it mean to find refuge in God?

The idea of giving something up for Lent has its roots in the early church where people did penance in order to “reenter” the church after denying the faith, most likely in the face of violence or threat of death. Baptisms and reaffirmations were a part of the Easter service. This time of preparation to enter into the church through baptism or through reaffirmation of the baptismal covenant into full participation into the church was called Lent. The season of Easter then was known as a time of “mystogogy,” a time of learning the mystery of living life as a baptized follower of Christ who breaks bread in Christ’s name and with all of the faithful. http://www.pcusa.org/ideas/lent/lenteasterworkshop.html

During Lent, at home or with a group from the church, you might try to practice some of the ancient traditions of the church:

Lectio Divina (sacred reading) from St. Augustine

It’s not about how quickly we read the Biblical text, but rather much we can chew of the text in a lifetime.

· A. Lectio – (read the text 3 times)

· B. Meditia – (each time sit in silence meditating over a word or phrase to God)

· C. Oratio – (offer prayers to God)

Ignatian Examen – from St. Ignatius of Loyola

· Calm yourself and sit in silence. Silently ask God to dwell in your spirit. Give thanks to God for the week. Where have you seen God in the past week? Ask God for a greater presence of the Holy Spirit in your lives.

· Examine how you lived your life this week. Ignatius invites us to begin each morning reminding ourselves of the “defects” in our lives we hope to amend today. At midday we take a first inventory: How has today gone so far with regard to the amendments we are seeking to make in our lives?

· Finally, at the end of the day, a full examen is undertaken: Where today did we experience a special awareness of Christ’s presence and transforming power, and where did we feel absent from him? We thank God for the places where we can discern our Lord’s presence with us, and repent for those places where we strayed from the way of Jesus.

· Offer up prayers of forgiveness and look upon yourself with forgiveness. Ask God for help.

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