The questions begin as people look for ideas…or perhaps inspiration and support. “What are you giving up for Lent?” Candy, alcohol, time on social media, yelling at reckless drivers: the list goes on and on. We’ve come to associate the six weeks before Easter that is known among Christians as Lent as a time to refrain from things we enjoy, to fast, to deny oneself some guilty pleasure or refrain from a bad habit. For many, Lent is a time to give up something.
The word “lent” has Dutch and Germanic origins. In Old Saxon, Middle Dutch, and Old High German, lent simply referred to the season of springtime. Around the 12th Century, it began to be used in liturgical calendars for the springtime season leading to Easter. Lent was a time of new beginnings and rebirth. Lent was the coming of new life that came to fruition in Spring. As I read the history of the evolution of the word “lent,” I’m struck by how different the origins were from our contemporary practice.
Lent: a new spring and a time for the growth of something rejuvenating. Lent is a time to start over again with a hope that looks toward fullness. In this context, it doesn’t seem to me that giving up candy or coffee is at the heart of the Lenten observance. Instead, Lent may be a time to start over and begin anew. Yes, that makes sense to me.
Rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition, a concept I hold dear is that humanity is created in the image and likeness of God. There’s something at the core of each person that is Divine. The writers of the ancient Biblical book of Genesis understood the Divine Life in us as breath. They imagined that at our creation God breathed into humanity. It was that same breath the blew over the deep, leading to the creation of the world. It’s that same breath that is the creative source of all life. Yes, there’s something Divine in each person and it’s as close to us as our breath.
Recognizing this profound and poetic understanding of our beginnings, perhaps this Lent, it’s time to begin anew. This Lent could be a time to return to an understanding that we are individuals whose essence is rooted in the Divine. If we need to give up something for Lent, then it’s time to give up thinking of self and others as less than individuals who reflect the Divine essence.
Today, our world is sharply divided by political ideologies. No matter the country, today people have taken polarizing views for and against a wide range of issues. These hardline views have become rallying points for politicians and international media conglomerates. Ultimately, these divisions have led to the rich and powerful becoming richer and more powerful while families and neighbors become increasingly intolerant of each other. Lost is the awareness that family members, neighbors, friends, and those who hold opinions different from our own are people of dignity just as we are. Instead, right and left label the other side as ignorant, unthinking, and intolerant. People are reduced to caricatures that only serve to diminish our essential humanity.
In this Lenten-Spring, is it possible to consider turning away from these false political divisions and seeing others as people of dignity? Can we give up caricatures of others in order to engage in listening? Perhaps by listening to each other, we can move toward a dialogue out of which something new can grow? Can the Lenten fast enable us to refrain from judging the value of others based on their political opinion? It seems to me that this kind of Lenten observance would bring new life to the world as we, as human beings, step out of false divisions and move toward living as a human community.
There’s nothing wrong with giving up candy or desserts if they are helpful reminders that our lives are not lived just for ourselves. But perhaps it will bring healing to our families, friends, communities – and yes, ourselves – if we can live as though the people around us hold something truly Divine at the core of their being. That kind of vision of humanity can lead us toward greater harmony among all people.
Photo by dj denim on Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA