Looking at Lent - A Short Note

Lent is a time of personal reflection and preparation because its ultimate objective is Easter and the glory of Christ’s resurrection.  As such it points to our own resurrection in spirit from the barren world of having and wanting – envying and indulging.  But Lent is not about giving up.  It is about not giving up and not giving in.  It is about staying the course.  The lesson in Christ’s 40 days in the desert upon which we base our 40 days of Lent is not that he went without but that he went within.  Jesus is tempted in the wilderness to be a different kind of Messiah; to take the path of spectacle and power rather than that of humble service.  Like Christ, we are tempted to follow a path that sometimes takes us away from God and his plan for us.  Lent helps us to turn back toward God by turning our eyes from what we want to who we are – from what we could have to what we could be.  Yes; we fast and give to those less fortunate during Lent to remind us of the meaning in suffering, but these are outward signs we share with each other of our retreat, in prayer and contemplation, from the material; the deeper task is to concentrate on what lies within to probe beneath and to see beyond.  So, in the coming days and weeks that lead to the joy of Easter and the Resurrection, let us depart as often as we can from the world of things-- our daily quest for better and for more-- and travel with Jesus on that other path to reflection on ascendancy of the spirit over the body and recognition of the true will of God.  Beginning today, let us prepare the way of the Lord - let us prepare to come home to God in our hearts.