Late...but Lent

I've never really marked Lent in any way. I remember six or seven years back going cold turkey on coffee and getting some cracker headaches, but that's about it for me. I also remember a girl at work going on a couple of Lent-prompted chocolate fasts—she got pretty grumpy. My wife, Fi, almost went on a Coffee Chill fast once. Almost.

And that's about it.

Except that suddenly last week I started thinking about Lent. And then I heard Rob Bell from Mars Hill talking about it. And then I began a rewind on how I've always thought about Lent.

I guess I grew up thinking that Lent was some religious practice observed by a faith tradition that had nothing to do with me. It was an observance amongst a cacophony of observances. Heck, these guys had observances coming out the wah-hoo, so why dwell on this one? Did these guys have it all wrong? Not on your Nelly. Like many other things we embrace to bring us closer to God, they have a habit of being distorted and, surprise, surprise, becoming about us. The motive to draw us to God is pure...but our flesh gets in the way.

The forty day period of Lent (yep, the clock is ticking - hence, 'Late...but Lent') is symbolic of the forty days spent by Jesus in the wilderness and possibly the forty hours he spent entombed. The number forty has many other Biblical significances: the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai with God; the forty days and nights Elijah spent walking to Mt. Horeb; God makes it rain for forty days and forty nights in the story of Noah; the Hebrew people wandered forty years traveling to the Promised Land; Jonah in his prophecy of judgment gave the city of Nineveh forty days grace in which to repent. Oh yeah, and U2 wrote song based on Psalm 40...

Now, I'd love you to keep on reading but, even more so, I'd love you to cut to the chase at some point. 'Cause there is a point. So, if you're 'read out' already, Cut to the Chase now!

Lent was (and is for many) a spiritual journey of soul-searching, repentance and realignment. A time for re-dedicating, taking stock and re-imagining our future's as followers of Jesus. Many Lenten practices have embraced fasting (no doubt prompted by Lent's origins). And somewhere further down the track it also became about not eating chocolate and not drinking coffee (or Coffee Chill). In fact, not... you fill in the blanks.

As with any other act of the will, it can end up being far more about what I'm not doing rather than the purpose behind my discipline and self-denial. While I can see how this is of tremendous value to some, it doesn't seem to be a particularly stretching or spiritual thing for me. This isn't to say that I haven't had some great times with God while fasting in the past, it's just that I know how I'm wired. I can do the fasting thing and it just becomes an exercise of the will. And, if you're reasonably disciplined, it becomes a thoughtless, purposeless exercise of the will.

Back to Lent...the big deal in practicing any form of spiritual discipline is my purpose. If I'm ticking a box that proves my ability to 'conquer my fleshly desires' then, you know, good for me'n'all but I'm sure that's more of a me thing than a me and God thing. There's value in discipline—Paul lists self-control as a fruit of the Spirit—but discipline can quickly turn inwards without a reminder of purpose. The bigger question for me becomes: 'Can these holy habits I'm practising bring me closer to Jesus and the community around me or do they simply serve to make me more self-aware?'

And what are those things? In the 31 days of Lent that remain (March 7 - April 6) what can I practise that will create intimacy with me and Jesus, me and Fi, and between me and the fine people I do life with?

Near 30 years ago, Richard Foster penned a seminal book: 'A Celebration of Discipline'. He covers three broad areas of spiritual discipline:

Inward: Disciplines that lead to personal transformation like prayer, fasting, meditation and study.
Outward: Disciplines that make the world around me a better places like simplicity, solitude, submission and service.
Corporate: Disciplines that bring me closer to those around me like confession, worship, guidance and celebration.

If you're still with me I'm heading somewhere. And my destination is greater intimacy with God and each other. My hope is that, together, we can throw off the dysfunctional, litigious and religious contexts that have tinged my perception of Lent to reveal a holy intent for any pursuit of God: a greater glimpse of His heart for us and His Church, and His restoration of the world.

The danger of doing anything like this is that it becomes a new liturgy—another thing to do. That's not the plan here. If you're up for engaging in some form of Lenten experience then let's be really clear here: the purpose is bigger than the plan. And, if at any time during the 31 days there's a fork in the road between purpose and practise, choose purpose.

And the purpose is this: intimacy with God, intimacy with community. Draw near to God and He'll draw near to you. Draw near to those around you and you'll discover the joy of joining others in this mysterious life journey that we're on (NB. they may also tell you to buy some deodorant).

So, I'm throwing this out there for you to chew over—to contemplate then active (however 'activate' looks for you).

For starters:
A place to begin might be to throw out some questions—not just to form your Lenten practice, but to inform it along the way.

a) What unhealthy patterns do I see in my life during the past year?
b) What relationships need reconciliation or my new or renewed investment?
c) How can I improve my relationship with God?
d) In what ways can I join God in healing and restoring the world?

Then...
Secondly, you might consider some form of addition or subtraction to the next 31 days that moves towards the over-arching purpose. On the subtraction side, the fasting thing is an obvious one. Yet it needn't be about culinary deprivation. Perhaps identify the things that absorb your time and money and fast from those. Television? Shopping? Reading? Take-away food? Perhaps He's asking you to use this time to finally leave some tings behind. To agree with God that they are redeemed by Him and they form a part of your journey but you no longer need to lug them 'round. The idea here is that whenever you feel an impulse for the thing that you're fasting from, take some time to acknowledge God and ask for His strength and His grace. Perhaps it's pursuing simplicity and integrating lifestyle choices that mean that, ultimately, less can become more.

On the addition side, there's lots of Lent to get excited about. What about deciding to pray with someone every day of Lent? What about using the four weekends of Lent to build community by having a series of dinner parties in different houses? Or shouting someone to a long coffee (long in time not volume...). Or how about deciding that on every day of Lent you'll specifically encourage people (whether it's by phone, sms, email, face to face, financially, whatever). Perhaps you could commit to physically kneeling by your bed, removing all competing noise, and praying aloud, allowing as much space to hear from God as you do to talk to Him? They're just a few, there's bundles of them.

Finally, it's common to commit to a daily reading of scripture during Lent. We're going to have daily readings on Cacophony over the next 31 days if you'd like them to be part of your Lenten experience. The idea is to pause. To stop and reflect. To rewind a little if you need to and meditate on God's word for you.

Final Thoughts: The Chase
I'd love you to buy-in to the purpose of Lent beyond the practise of it. But I'd love you to practise too. To allow the purpose of Lent to fuel your practise. While I'd love you to dialogue about Lent here on Cacophony, I'd love you to do something else: comment anonymously what you're integrating in this Lenten period to build intimacy. What you're doing and not doing. Or, even why you think it's a waste of time.

One last thing: my hope is that together, we discover that the decisions we make for these 31 days might be 'whole of life' decisions. So, document your journey. Share it here. Engage with Lent and those doing it with you. I don't doubt for a moment that the underlying purpose of Lent is an all of life purpose...by staring it in the face we clarify the journey ahead.

Lent on...