By Marek Zabriskie
H.L. Mencken once defined a puritan as a person who has an overwhelming suspicion that somewhere, someone is having fun. It makes me think of Lent. Lent is not merely a season. It is a process.
Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning “lengthening.” It is connected with the stars and the weather and the lengthening of days, reminding us that Lent is a season for spiritual growth.
Medieval believers called it “the springtime of Christianity.” As a flower blooms in spring, the Christian blooms in Lent. The observance of Lent goes back to the early Church when it became a season to prepare candidates for baptism.
The days leading up to Easter were also a time when those who had committed grave sins could be reconciled with their fellow Christians after a lengthy period of penance. The Church saw the benefit that came from giving the faithful a season to draw closer to God.
Lent became a time where all Christians focused on fasting, penitence, prayer, Bible reading, and self-denial. Fasting purifies the spirit, strengthens our ability to pray, and combats temptations. The Church also encouraged almsgiving – giving to the poor and the needy.
The tradition of Lent reenacts the time that Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness before he began his ministry. Each year on the first Sunday of Lent we read the story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by the Devil and wrestling with issues of his messianic ministry.
I have led several pilgrimages to the Holy Land and once visited the actual mountain where Jesus was tempted. The Mount of Temptation overlooks the ancient city of Jericho. It lies within an area that stretches 35 by 15 miles called “the Devastation.”
The landscape is full of jagged rocks, crumbling limestone and yellow sand. The terrain drops 1200 feet to the city of Jericho, the lowest spot on earth. It was an incredible to stand where Jesus confronted the Devil, and faced but did not succumb to temptations.
In the movie Grand Canyon, one of the characters describes the Grand Canyon as that place where, when you stand on the edge, you gain a proper perspective on who you are and where you fit within the greater scheme of things. Standing atop a mountain will do that.
The Devil tested Jesus by encouraging him to turn every stone into bread and to meet people’s material needs. Had God not said, “I will rain bread from heaven for you.”? Had Isaiah not said, “They shall not hunger or thirst.” (Is. 49:10)? But Jesus knew that his Kingdom was more than merely feeding people.
For nearly two thousand years, Christians have used the season of Lent to enter into Jesus’ experience in the wilderness of living simply, praying, fasting and battling temptation, and sacrificing something that we enjoy in order to draw us closer to God.
Consider taking on one thing and giving up one thing for Lent. Consider: Things to consider taking on:
1. Read one of the gospels or another Bible book slowly and meditatively. Mull over the words. Apply them to your life. Let God nurture your soul. Stop and pray as you are inspired to do so.
2. Devote ten minutes a day to praying. It’s best to do this first thing in the day. It will enhance the rest of your day. Write names on an index card of those who you know need God’s help. Pray for local and world concerns. Listen quietly for God to whisper in your soul.
3. Read a spiritual classics like C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, St. Augustine’s Confessions, or Teresa of Avila’s spiritual autobiography or a devotional written by Joan Chittister, Thomas Merton, Teresa of Avila, Esther de Waal, Julian of Norwich, Margaret Guenther, Martin Laird, Madeline L’Engle, Thomas Keating or Basil Pennington. You can buy many of these at the Dogwood Bookstore at Christ Church.
4. Do a selfless deed each day to improve someone else’s life. Let Lent be about action.
5. Write a letter or note each day to someone you haven’t been in close touch with a long time, and by Easter you will have resurrected 40 relationships.
6. Tithe what you earn for the 40 days of Lent. Live for 40 days with the biblical conviction that God will honor your living a sacrificial life and give ten percent of what you earn or have available to you to live on for 40 days to your church or to a charity that does God’s work.
Consider choosing one of these things to give up for Lent:
1. Forgo one meal each day in Lent to hallow yourself out so that God can fill you up. Fasting builds willpower, helps combat sin and temptation, and facilitates prayer and discernment.
2. Give up alcohol. If you can’t give it up for 40 days, perhaps you should give it up forever.
3. Fast from social media and electronics. The average American now checks his or her phone 348 times a day! How can God get a word in edgewise when we live our lives in cyberspace. Fast from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram or Tumblr, and TikTok during Lent.
4. Fast from negativity. Try to go 40 days without saying anything negative. It will transform your outlook and your relationships.
5. Give up watching television or TV news for Lent. See how that makes you feel.
6. Simplify your life. Discard one item or possession each day. Put them in a pile. Have someone pick them up or deliver them to a place that can resell them. Decluttering is a spiritual practice to simplify your dwelling place while helping others in need.
A faithful Lent will help you feel far more spiritually alive come Easter morning.
The Rev. Marek P. Zabriskie is Rector of Christ Church Greenwich.
