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The 40 days of Lent are almost over. And its been a long road this
year. But thats what its
supposed to be, right? Its
supposed to be forty days of sacrifice and longing and anticipation for its
end.
Ive heard it said before, most likely from a priest during
mass, that the purpose of making a Lenten sacrifice is to give something up in
order to make room for Christ. I
always try to keep that in mind when choosing something to give up. Because its not just about the
sacrifice, you have to include Christ in the 40 days as well.
One year I gave up TV.
Forty days of no TV, no movies, nothing. Each night I read from the Bible before I went to bed. It was hard to stay disciplined. Especially after the long vigorous days
of chasing kids around. To my own
surprise, I found that at the end of the forty days I actually preferred to
watch less TV.
Another year, I decided not to give anything up. Every year I would give something up
but I didn't make room for Christ.
That lent I read the Bible each night and journaled how it applied
personally to my life. This was my
most memorable year. I remember
reading the Bible and thinking, this does not apply to me at all. The little voice in the back of my head
would start saying, Just skip the journaling. Theres nothing to write about anyway. I ignored that little voice and kept
writing. Amazingly (as if from
God), every night, no matter what little I thought it had to do with my life,
as I started writing the real world application just came out. Christ really did speak to me that year
and I learned a lot.
I was having trouble deciding what I was going to do this
year. I figured I would give up
the thing that I spend the most time doing. The one thing I looked forward to every morning. For me, that was Facebook. It sounds silly and ridiculous and I
thought to myself that it was the worst idea ever. But it really was one of the biggest sacrifices that I could
give up. And it proved to be very
hard. There were many temptations
but I managed to make it through the forty days.
Like most of my Lenten experiences, I started coming to the
end thinking, I haven't learned a single thing this year. Facebook was hard to give up but I
didnt make room for Christ. A
couple days ago I had my Aha! moment.
I realized that I did in fact learn a very important lesson this year.
Every lent is a solemn occasion. Its a sad time for the Christian faith. Each lent, especially during Holy Week,
I find myself tearing up during Mass. Even if you don't believe in God or
Heaven, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, the crucifixion still happened to a man. And its a very sad compelling story.
This year I realized that I have been missing a very
important part of Lent and Easter.
And that part is the Alleluia of
Easter. I have been focusing so
much on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us that I didn't really pay attention
to the Easter part. In past years,
I was so wrapped up in the solemnity and the sadness that I forgot to rejoice
at the end.
Ive always thought that no matter what I gave up for Lent,
it would never compare to Jesus sacrifice. And it never will but thats not the point. There are lots of silly and
insignificant things in this world that we covet as human beings. Things that we long for and need that
may not be necessary. And although
we are giving one of those things up for Lent, it doesn't mean we have to give
it up forever. I think we are
supposed to get to do those things again at the end of Lent.
Although Facebook may seem silly and insignificant, on
Easter morning I will be logging on.
I look forward to it and I'm excited to catch back up. And thats what Easter is supposed to
be. I need to remember that Easter
is a big Alleluia. It is something
to look forward to and to anticipateJesus rising from the dead. Just like Christians will be raised up
to Heaven to have eternal life.
Its the center of our religion.
Its what we are all waiting for.
This Easter don't forget the Alleluia! and celebrate.
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