More Lent
Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 03:07PM 
One week from today, we will be in Lent. Again.
If you’re anything like me, it feels like we never left the last Lent. I’m wondering how much Lenty-er our lives can get. How much more can we give up? Can we really find the energy to do this again – to prepare again for an Easter that feels like it’ll never come?
I understand this hesitation – I really do. We are all feeling so tired and deprived already. But I think this actually means that we need more Lent, not less.
Because Lent, at its heart, is a season about getting close to God. We tend to think of it as a time of great solemnity – of abstinence and penitence. And it can be all of those things, of course. But all of those things are a part of this season because, ultimately, they bring us closer to God. If material things – food, alcohol, screens – are getting between you and God, then Lent invites you to give them up. If your sin – those things done and left undone – is what’s blocking you from God’s love, then Lent invites you to confess it and make amends. Lent is never about self-denial for its own sake, only for the sake of increasing our openness to the Grace that God is pouring out on us every day.
So this year, we need more Lent, not less. Maybe giving something up doesn’t feel helpful. Maybe your life feels austere enough, thank you very much. But there are ways for you to draw closer to God, or, more accurately, to open the door to find God drawing close to you. Lent is a season of rich and holy reward, built upon the hope that at the end of this season we will find nothing less than all of God’s love, all of God’s life, given for us.
One week from today, we will be in Lent. Again. Hallelujah.
Yours in Christ,
The Very Rev’d Erika L. Takacs
Rector, Church of the Atonement, Chicago
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Reader Comments (2)
If I remember correctly, the word Lent comes from Old English and means “spring” as in the season. Utilizing that definition of natural seasons (I have always felt that Christianity lost its sense of humus (earthiness) that is prevalent in the holidays of Judaism) one can approach this Lent as a true springing forth from the long winter of the pandemic and the losses it created. Spiritually that approach can reflect the long winter of all creation sprinting forth with the Resurrection of Christ at Easter. Perhaps this Lent we could focus on our deep longings for the full manifestation of the Reign of God tasted in the life, ministry, death, Resurrection and Ascension, but still in the “already not yet” of complete fulfillment and completion.
I appreciate Mtr. Erika's comments, especially the connection between Lent and being closer to God. In other words, we fast, abstain, etc not for the sake of fasting, but that we might know/experience God more fully. So yes, the pandemic has forced us to give up certain things, which feels "Lent-y." But have the inconveniences/burdens/tragedies of the pandemic invited us into a closer relationship with God? If not, Lent can be a time for us to make that connection. So maybe given that we've already given many things up, we don't give up any new things for Lent. But perhaps we use this time to recalibrate our relationships w/ God and one another.