Lent 2010

Just a friendly reminder that Lent is beginning next week on Wednesday and will continue for forty days until the third of April. The Tuesday before is called Shrove Tuesday and it is traditional to eat pancakes on that day. I will be celebrating in that style at Liberty Market in downtown Gilbert with many other various folks for breakfast (it's actually an official tweetup #evfat/#evtm if you are into that).

I encourage you to consider participating in observing Lent this year either by fasting from something you enjoy/or by adding in a discipline. This time is supposed to prepare your heart/mind/life in a period of waiting and mourning before the Easter season when we celebrate resurrection.

Maybe this is a topic to explore with your family and friends as well in the next week. Feel free to share how you would considering observing on this post, and I also look forward to discussing it next week when we all meet.

Recap 2.22.09

Well, the recap is late.  Can you believe it?  Yeah, me too.

      At our little gathering, we foraged through a thoughtful discussion of the Lenten Season (not to be confused those little soup beans). 

     Tara kicked it off with an inspiring inaugural post, after which there was a ball that I was apparently not invited to.  We discussed some of the traditional forms of celebrating Lent, which of course included the 'giving up' of anything that could be put in the 'fun' category.  You know meat, red meat, swearing, alcohol, hitting people, beanie babies....sailor's activities basically. 
     Digging a little deeper, we found that this may not be a time to simply try and shed bad habits, or even start good ones.  This time is about Christ's sacrfice, and us connecting to that sacrifice through one of our own.  Naturally, one person's sacrifice will look quite different than another's.  In fact, some may not look sacrificial at all.  It may be setting aside specific time for discipline, practicing a discipline that would cause us to reflect, refraining from activities that hinder spiritual progress (such as excessive time on Facebook, blogging, etc.)  **I think a new thread should be started to discuss further the narcissistic discussion we were having regarding these online activities as there is much more depth here that won't make it into this recap, but that I think was going somewhere good** 
     Our specific lives are far too different to go through these motions in the same manner, lest it become more about the motions themselves.  So, we discussed what these motions were going to be personally for each one of us.  We touched on the subject of not publicizing our mournful efforts, for a variety of reasons.  To contrast this, however, there seemed to be an element of community that would be severely missed if we do not share our efforts with one another in this time. 
     So, I won't oust anybody - but I'll start with mine.  I'm going to try and not become full for 40 days.  I guess it's a fast in a very sissy sort of way.  The idea here has to do with respecting those who are hungry, recognizing Jesus' hunger through this time, and not stuffing myself silly just because it's available.  So, I would love to hear from anybody/everybody willing to share on this fatty of a Tuesday. 

Lent

[Tap tap tap... is this thing on? I always enjoy reading this blog, but have yet to actually post something! Here goes...]

Like others in the group, I grew up in an Evangelical church. I never observed Lent, and really had no clue what it was until I was in college. Even then, I still didn't really "get it," nor did I put much effort into exploring it. All I really knew was that some of the girls in my dorm decided to not hit the dessert table in the cafeteria for 40 days. How enticing!

It wasn't until last year that Adam and I decided to learn a little more about Lent and to subsequently observe it. It was a challenging time (we gave up meat), and while it was beneficial in that it forced me to deny myself, I feel like I could have taken more away from it. So, here I sit, reading about Lent and contemplating how I might observe it in a more meaningful way this year.

From what I have learned (and I'm sure there are some of you who are much more educated on the subject, so feel free to add/interject), the word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lengten, which means spring. It is a season of pruning, of giving and of giving up, of reflection, penitence, simplicity, and growth-- a season leading up to the celebration of Christ's resurrection.

Now, I'm not "about" performing perfunctory rituals based solely on longstanding traditions, but since Lent has never held that place in my life, I think it could be a very beneficial season. It is not in my nature to readily pause and reflect or to deny myself, so I think a dedicated period of time to do so will probably do me good.

Yesterday's conversation (well, the parts that I was there for, at least) got me thinking about these digital mediums, communities, networks, whatever you want to call them. I wasn't left thinking that they are necessarily detrimental, but rather that I should take some time to reflect on WHY I use them. And while I know that some of you don't use networks like Facebook, I must confess that I am one of the people who spend too much time on it. So perhaps this upcoming Lenten season will be a good time for me to take a break from it, to instead use my time reflecting, investing in relationships face-to-face, and opening myself up to more ways that I can love God and love my neighbor. Lent is also a time for prayer-- another subject on which I am "fuzzy." After our conversation on prayer a few weeks ago, I picked up Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's Becoming the Answer to our Prayers: Prayer for Ordinary Radicals-- I'm hoping it will glean some insight into my confused head.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts about Lent. Past experiences (or lack thereof) are welcomed. I'm sure there are EmDes-ers out there with more insight on the subject, so please share away! Is anyone else interested in observing it this year? Ash Wednesday is February 25th..