Why Bother With Lent?

-- The Rev. Coleen Lynch s a culture, we suffer from the tyranny of inconvenience. We don't like to be uncomfortable or bothered by anything that gets in the way of doing what we want to do when we want to do it. We might be willing to try a fad diet for awhile if it promises enough results, but don't ask us to change our lives permanently. Lent does just that. Lent invites us to change our lives forever and for better. Lent is not about a season, it's about a person -- Jesus Christ. Through coming to know Jesus in a real and meaningful way and committing or recommitting ourselves to follow him, our lives embrace possibilities we never thought could be ours. Jesus breaks through our wall of hum-drum complacency and compels us to reevaluate our lives, not by the standards of the world, but by the standards of the Gospel. Belief in Jesus Christ is not about making us miserable. It's about offering us a way out of our misery so that we can live our lives to the full as he has promised (John 10:10). The traditional practices of Lent -- prayer, fasting and almsgiving/good works -- provide us with the tools to deepen our faith and to live more holy and more wholesome lives. This Lent, try out these time-tested spiritual practices for yourself. Have a daily chat with the Lord, be with him, listen to him, read his living word in Holy Scripture. If your health permits, consider fasting a day a week -- two half-meals and one whole meal. Give up something if you wish, and offer the money or the time you save to a worthwhile cause important to you. Give something of yourself in time, money or possessions to someone outside of yourself. That someone may be as close as a family member or friend, a local neighbour, or someone in a distant land. Whatever you do, "draw near to God and he will draw near to you" (James 4:8). God bless you.