Tim Samoff // Weblog (old)

February 11, 2005

Bent over Lent...

I apologize to Owen for appropriating his Blog post title, but it just seemed so appropriate. Still, I hope you don’t mind, Owen.

My history with Lent is neither long, nor that interesting, yet I feel like my experiences with it over the last few years have been profoud, spiritually rewarding, and even life-changing. As you can read in my last entry about Lent, I hadn’t even really known what it was all about until a few years ago. I mean, I had heard of it — I knew people gave up something or other in order to give penitence for their sins, etc. But it was all so…Catholic to me. I was ignorant to the fact that Lent wasn’t about being Catholic or about performing ritual. What I really didn’t realize was the fact that what Lent was about was regaining focus.

There are many times in the bible that speak of the “seasons” of life. Many of these seasons last for days or weeks or years. Many of these periods are signified by the value of forty: Noah’s journey on the Ark (Genesis 7:1-4), Moses’ stay on the mountain with God (Exodus 24:15-18), the Jews’ escape from Egypt (Exodus 16:35), Jesus being tempted in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13)... I don’t know why this is, but it is. Lent is another season that spans forty days.

Lent’s origins began in commemoration of Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. “Lent is an old English word meaning to lengthen. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer” (BBC, Christianity>Holy Days>Lent). Even today, some believers still take Lent so seriously that they will fast for the entire season. While I could never attempt something as drastic as this, I can see a benefit of humbling one’s self in this way. And since fasting for so long is slightly unhealthy, Lent is a great time to do it — if there is power in a corporate prayer, then why wouldn’t there be in corporate fasting?

My first observance of Lent was through the daily practice of Lectio Divina (divine reading). Now, although I was a stranger to the concept of Lent, I was very familiar with some spiritual disciplines (the Jesus Prayer, reciting the Apostle’s Creed, etc.) that I had been learning about over the previous couple of years. I had never practiced Lectio Divina, but I was eager to try.

To my surprise, a whole new world of scripture was opened to me through Lectio. My knowledge of scripture grew, I further appreciated the concept of solitude, my time in the word became alive, my ability to hear the words of my Father was heightened… More than anything, the inclusion of a daily rhythm in my life allowed me to become more fully aware of who I was and how I was supposed to live in God’s kingdom.

Another outcome of our daily practice was my realization of how a great disservice had been done to many ancient spiritual disciplines. This disservice was the fact that these disciplines were usually equated exclusively with monastaries and various Eastern versions of Christianity. Normally, this wouldn’t be such a bad thing — and it may not even matter to most of those who read this Weblog — but to Western Protestant Christianity it is an offense that is difficult to get past.

Monasteries provide us with a great example of what it might look like to live in rhythm. And I think that God appreciates rhythm and cycles and seasons — hence the mysterious inclusion of numerology in the bible, the periods of destruction and redemption, of anger and grace; time in the dessert and time on the mountain top… These are all rhythms that unfold as we read God’s story.

So, what is Lent to me? Lent is a time of regaining rhythm. A time to focus on God’s word in deeper ways than I might at other times of the year. A time of realizing my sins in the period before Christ was crucified for them.

These forty days are not just a pious, meaningless season, but a time to realize our place in God’s plan.

And for me, in my personal journey through God’s kingdom, I choose to practice Lent… In fact, I even give something up for Lent: one hour of each weekday evening in order that I may read God’s word in an ancient and exciting way.

I’ll leave you with one of the prayers that we will be reading tonight (from Northumbria Community):

Expressions of faith

Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always kept
me safe in trials;
and now, tried as I am,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always lightened
this darkness of mine;
and though the night is here,
today I believe.

Lord, You have always spoken
when time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.

Posted at 10:52 am

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