What is Lent about?
I preach on this regularly during the season of Lent, so, if you’re one of the sorry souls that listens to me drone on and on catechetically week after week please feel free to close your browser and get on with your day now, you’ll hear nothing new. Here. But for those who don’t, let me ask you this now, what is Lent about?
I ask in part because, apparently I didn’t get the memo (they must miss me in the mailing list every year) about this season being about self improvement
You all know what I’m talking about, I’m sure. “What are you giving up this year?” Hoping to finally kick that dirty habit? Hoping to cut back on tha thing you know you need to eventually cut out all together? Did you fail at it during your new years resolutions? No worries, Lents got you covered.
Or so the world and the west would have it. But far be it from the church of Christ to let the truth slip that far before slapping us back into reality with the Lenten lectionary readings. Look at them now, if you will. What seest thou? Giving up smoking? Nope. Cutting out bad habits? Nope. Becoming a better you? Nope. Proving yourself? Nope. Actually none of that stuff is Lenten. You want to talk about Lenten fasting sure go for it, but don’t let your healthy physical and spiritual practice overshadow what this season is so clearly about. Look at the readings. What do you see? The same thjng you see in every season of the year silly, your needing to be saved and Jesus’ saving you.
I came here with a trick question. What’s lent about? Christ and His work for you. Duh! And yet, we begin with the topic of fasting on Ash Wednesday AND the first Sunday in lent. So why? Well, look closer. Ash Wednesday serves to say what to us other than the utter futility of own self willed actions of betterment before God (I.e. Joel 2 & Isaiah 58), and the forgiveness we receive through the grace and mercy of God (Ps 51). And the only thing JESUS says of fasting on that day, is well, just what Isaiah says, which is, basically uh, “you’re doing it wrong.” And first Sunday in lent? Well, this is Year A, so this is low hanging fruit; (romans 5). It’s not about you. It’s about Christ doing whst you could not do. It’s about His defeat of Satan’s temptations, his overturning your sin, your failure, and His undoing of your death. His taking on of your suffering and His putting of it to death through His own death and rest in the tomb. It’s not about pulling yourself up from your bootstraps, or your converse laces, or the holes in your satanically ugly Crocs, or even your over grown toe nails this season is about Christ doing everything instead of you, in spite of you, and UTTERLY WITHOUT YOU. And all of it, He does FOR YOU. Praise God. Can I hear some “Amens” from the ex-baptists in the back?
What’s lent about? It’s a simple season just as they all are. It’s about Jesus. It’s about the Creed. For us he suffered, died and was buried. It’s about the suffering death and burial of christ for you and for your salvation.
Lent is not about you. It’s not about your fasting. It’s not about you proving anything to God or giving anything to God. It’s not about doing anyhting more than you do the rest of the year. And most of all, what it is NOT is a season for you to strive to no longer need saving anymore.
What it is, is a time cut out of the year for tbe very specific purpose of preaching to you about Christ’s accomplishing your salvation through His suffering, death, and burial.
Dig into that. Lean into that. Dive into that. Drink deeply of that. Meditate upon that.
For that (Christ and His work for you in life/Christmas, death/Lent, and resurrection/Easter) is the purpose of Lent and the purpose of every Church season. To show you Christ. To point you to Christ. To give you Christ. Let Him and His work for you shape your year. Put to death your plans of betterment or self scrutiny. Let Him be, as He is this year (and every year), which is FOR YOU.
So this year, give yourselves and your attempts to be what Christ already is for you up for lent. Practice the Christian discipline of FAITH this Lenten season, and RECEIVE Christ and His work for you.
By all means fast (more on that another time soon). But firstly and foremostly, remind yourselves that this season is about Christ for you more than it is abiut you being for Him. This season is about Him suffering for you. Not you suffering for Him. You are not Jesus’ Christ. He is yours. So let Him be.
You want me to tell you something TO DO? Go to church every daily (yes that is a thing), hear more sermons, read more scripture, pray more prayers, go to confession, and receive Him wherever, whenever, and however He comes to you.
And by so doing, for goodness sake, have a HAPPY Lent
