| Lent: Becoming Myself (With God’s Help) |
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| GrowFaith | |||
| Written by Diana Bridges | |||
| Thursday, 18 February 2010 10:05 | |||
 I know that Lent—like so many other things—isn’t about me. It’s about the Christian community remembering and coming to terms with what Christ has done for us and in us. A survey of Lenten resources will find many studies and essays about sin—ours—and death—His and ours—and how those realities affect us. But Lent, like Advent, isn’t a destination. It’s a road. To somewhere worth going. Some people go alone because they have no choice, but it’s a trip best made in the company of friends.
A few years ago I came across a quote by Soren Kierkegaard: “Now, with God’s help, I shall become myself.” I believe I saw it in the margin of a devotional Bible which has since been lost, so I don’t know the context of the quotation. But if he wasn’t writing about Lent, he certainly could have been. The Bible teaches that people were created for relationship with God, each other, and the rest of creation. Sin undermined those relationships and the healthy impulses that went with them. It created an Us versus Them mentality that put us at war with the environment, each other, and even God. Jesus came to show us how to live. Then he offered his own life on our behalf so that theory could be translated into reality. Through the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, giving up various indulgences, and taking up helpful disciplines, God reveals what currently controls us and reminds us of what—or Who—should. Lent is followed by Easter, the greatest of all Feast days, which too often marks the return to life as usual. What if this year were different? What if this year I understood that life should be markedly different after Lent—not more somber and “religious,” but more joyful and authentic? What if I (and others in my faith community) realized that Lent is not ultimately about sin and death, but about becoming myself? I live with an uneasy knowledge that I often choose what is easy over what is most fulfilling. Good work remains undone, books gather dust, flowers are unplanted, and friendships remain in idle. Jesus promised an abundant life that I’ve downsized to what seems manageable. Even though I know the designer’s specs aren’t being realized, I’ve lacked the courage to choose the better way. But it’s Lent again. All this talk about death is at its core very hopeful. A lot of things need to die. Others need to be resurrected. Then I can become myself—for the good of my community and to the glory of God. Photo Credit
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