Monday, March 23, 2020
697 - A Lenten Fast
Spirituality Column #697
March 24, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
A Lenten Fast
By Bob Walters
“Interesting times they are. And all the more interesting
that – as we are made to slow down, to live in the moment, to deny ourselves
the pleasures to which we are accustomed, and to think about our neighbors – it
is Lent.” A recent text from a friend.
It strikes me that the November-December Thanksgiving and Christmas
holiday season would be the very most inconvenient time of year to have a
pandemic.
But early spring can’t be far behind.
Where Christmastime is the season of largesse and lights, families
and friends, traditions and get-togethers, springtime is the province of sports
and spring breaks, school plays and senior class shenanigans, of flowers and
showers and … oh yeah in Indiana in March … basketball. Lots and lots of basketball.
This would have been the week leading up to the 110th
Indiana boys basketball high school state finals played every year since 1911 –
109 years in a row surviving two world wars.
But now, not 110. Our 2020 NCAA
March Madness died the day it was supposed to start – depending how you count –
when the Big Ten men’s (and other conference tourney games) were cancelled as
teams were warming up in the gym.
There would be no 2020 Big Dance, and no Big Dance
card. Just … cancelled. Surely somewhere a Sweet 16 is prepping for
this weekend’s NCAA Regionals? Nope.
My more philosophically-minded friends noticed early on that
it was healthy to look at this culture-jerking, school-cancelling,
sports-crushing, restaurant-and-retail-closing season as an opportunity for
introspection. My erudite friend quoted
above put it in the Christian context of Lent, the Holy season of privation
leading up to the saving sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross at
Golgotha. I like my friend’s perspective.
Not every Christian observes a Lenten fast, but the Easter season
is an apt and prayerful counterpoint to the raucous secularism of cultural Christmas. Lent prior to Easter gives Christians six
weeks of daily opportunity – in the spring, in this season of renewal – to
encounter and reflect on their relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
As we are mindful that the reason for the cultural shutdown,
social distancing, and basketball void is an impending burst of disease – a
tidal wave I am convinced is nearly at hand – we can pray for clearer
understanding of God’s grace and mercy.
I look at Jesus as the locus of my peace and hope, not of the
world’s fear and disaster; that’s Satan’s party. The cross of Christ was ugly –
as ugly as anything in human history – but Lent provides this opportunity to
meditate on the beauty of God’s love within the Father-Son-Spirit Trinity, His
love for us, and our love for Him and others.
We are still in the adventure phase of this coronavirus
ordeal. When sickness draws nigh the
dynamic will change quickly from curiosity and inconvenience to, I pray, one of
strength, courage, forbearance, and peace that passes all understanding. We’ll need to be strong for our families,
friends, and communities … and vice versa.
Of everything one can give up for Lent, I can’t think of a
better fast than fear.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) does not feel like a lamb led to slaughter; he feels like an American Christian blessed with freedom, responsibility, opportunity, and hope.
1 comments:
Good blog, Bob, and I even learned a new word. Thank you. (No longer in HKG)
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