So what have you given up for Lent?
FAITH MATTERS
It’s only a few days into this preEaster season, but I bet that you’ve probably been asked or heard the popular question this time of year: “What have you given up for Lent?”
It’s interesting that for most people Lent is defined by that aspect of self-denial, but that is just one portion of the Lenten preparation. Prayer, repentance, charitable giving and atonement are the other, traditional characteristics of Lent. The fact that our culture seems to have made it almost exclusively about the giving up of items, habits or vices, speaks to a deeper realization about the nature of our society.
Our society’s unhealthy attachment to the commercial, to our “stuff,” is clearly reflected during this time, when “giving up” things is the hallmark of this preparatory period.
But what if I was to tell you that Lent really isn’t solely about giving up anything, but it’s really about gaining everything?
In my own faith journey, I’ve been challenged of late to get reacquainted with the necessity and the joy of silence and stillness. Finding the joy in silence is a lot more difficult for a Baptist preacher than you might imagine, but I’m more convinced than ever of the necessity of silence in my own life, especially as we prepare for the beautiful, scandalous events of Easter.
By embracing all of the Lenten disciplines (which are really Christian characteristics to be incorporated all year long), especially through the increase of prayer, a much deeper, genuine connection to God can be formed and nurtured. But this prayer is not the babbling of pagans that Jesus warns us against or the long list of petitions and unreasonable requests that many of our prayers become, but a time of quiet communion of the soul, taking the time to truly listen to what the God of the universe would say to you today. That kind of listening takes effort and time to master, but when the effort is put forward, Scripture tells us a connection with God is possible.
The King James Version of the Bible reveals its poetic beauty in the telling of the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19. The mighty prophet is hiding in a cave, fearful of losing his life to his enemies and the enemies of God. The Father speaks to Elijah and in an effort to bolster his confidence promises to appear before the prophet. A great wind rushes past, then an earthquake, then a fire, then a still, small voice.
God wasn’t in the wind, the earthquake or fire, but in that still, small voice. A voice so small that our silence is needed to hear it. We need to be listening, and we need to be still - not an easy thing to do with our hectic lifestyles.
The psalmist tells us that if we will strive to find the calm stillness in our lives that we really can gain everything that matters. Be still and know that I am God, Psalm 46 assures us.
So for the rest of this Lenten season, don’t ask, “What have you given up?”, but rather, “What have you received for Lent?”