I am not a fan of Lent.

There is altogether too much breast-beating for my taste. Or, rather, for my mental and spiritual health.

I’m trying to recast it in my own mind, because I know it means so much more. As one of the Proper Prefaces for Lent says,

You bid your faithful people cleanse their hearts, and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast; that, fervent in prayer and in works of mercy, and renewed by you Word and Sacraments, they may come to the fullness of grace which you have prepared for those who love you.¹

Reading the Gospels, I see Jesus handing out forgiveness pretty liberally. I’m convinced our sins are not the huge barrier for God that the verbiage of our theologies and liturgies can make it seem. Jesus’ concern was (is) always that people be reconciled with God and with their communities, that they follow him, and that they live out a love for God and for their neighbor.²

Here’s a little blurb I wrote for the bulletin I produced for a small parish church.

The Great Litany³ (BCP p.148), generally recited the First Sunday in Lent, may sound like a relic of the past. It may feel a bit like self-flagellation and pleadings addressed to a God who we are not sure is disposed to help us.

The reason we pray these prayers however, is not to get God’s attention or convince God to care about us; God already loves us beyond our wildest longings. God already sees us, knows our needs, and is already working for our greatest good.

We, however, do not always orient our selves toward God. We might not recognize our vulnerability and reliance on God’s grace. These prayers train us to desire what God desires and to expect God’s salvation. After all, as we heard Jesus say in the Gospel reading today, “the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”

1. In the 1979 Book of Common Prayer of The Episcopal Church, p. 379 ↩︎
2. Much has been said, and can be said, about what Jesus meant by “neighbor.” He explained it himself with the story of the “Good Samaritan,” as we’ve come to call it (Luke 10:30–37). I like the language of “neighbor” because it is more concrete than, say, “all people,” which can be a vague concept. It’s easier to convince yourself you love “all people” than that you love your “neighbor”—the latter being objectively observable, for starters. ↩︎
3. https://www.bcponline.org/GreatLitany/Litany.html ↩︎