I've snuck into Catholic Ash Wednesday services for at least nine years. I recall picking up all three children at their elementary school and remember them being appalled and embarrassed that their mom, who was not Catholic, had gone to an Ash Wednesday service and had a black cross marked across her forehead.
Perhaps it was John Wimber's admonishion to love the whole Church - the bells and smells - which drew me to Church traditions like Lent and Advent. Perhaps it was my love of nature and her seasons and routines that drew me to the rhythms of our Christian calendar. Or perhaps it was the Spirit drawing me to seasons that stood in the place of mystery and made room for lament and prayer. Whatever the reason, I became captivated then - to my children's chagrin - and have continued to attend services since.
This year, working in a new place, I was delighted to discover North Fresno Church holds an Ash Wednesday service! Such a treat to be part of a beloved service which I normally have just attended! I even got the opportunity to admonish the ashes! Never in a million years did I think I would get the chance to put the sign of the cross in ash on people's foreheads!! It was such an honor (and so much fun!) to minister to people in this way on this beautiful holy day as we make more space for Jesus and take time to reorient our lives toward Him: the author and perfector of our faith.
St. Francis de Sales said, "Lent is the autumn of the spiritual life during which we gather fruit to keep us going for the rest of the year."
Lent is traditionally a season to give up "something" but it could also be a season to pick-up something. As I've been praying about what I should "do" these next 40-days, I've been stunned by the silence. Oh, I've had a few ideas, but I can tell they're just my own ideas, not necessarily prompted by the Holy Spirit. But I've known God long enough to know He will speak to me at the right time.
I was in a meeting last week and a pastor friend of mine said that he is giving up fear for Lent. "Giving up fear?" I thought? "Is that an option? Can we give up something intangible, but so powerful like that?" While I don't think 'fear' is quite my thing this season, it did get me thinking. Instead of giving up tangible items like coffee, soda and TV, what powers are at work in my life that are getting a foothold, stealing my fruit and poisoning my vine?
During one of our stations tonight an idea dropped in my mind. Can I give up busyness? Can I say no to being busy? While it seems vague and impossible to get my hands around, being "too busy" is definitely a power at work in my life trying to destroy me! Perhaps because it seems like such a large monster God is calling me to name it and then slowly cut off it's tentacles that have been creeping into every square-inch of my life.
So, I'm giving up being busy. That's not to say I plan on sitting around the house doing nothing. But to instead intentionally rest. Actually schedule garden-time, walks with friends and perhaps even a silent-retreat day to just escape away with the One whom I love so much. Would fasting from coffee be easier? Probably. But the fruit of 40-days of intentional quiet and slower pace may just reap a harvest of fruit which will feed me for the rest of the year!
My prayer is that you too use this Lent season as an opportunity to reorient and adjust your life toward Jesus Christ. How has your life gotten off-track, even just so slightly? What can you do (or not do!) to make space for the Spirit to speak to you? God has reached out to us through His Son and made us in right relationship with Him and with others. We've been adopted into His family and have a new inheritance of being His kids, his representatives on this earth! We are loved beyond measure! With this in mind, let us joyously embark on this 40-day journey toward the cross. Let us live with intentionality, making space for times of lament, quiet and reflection. Let us draw closer to Jesus.
