Celebrating the Now of Lent

March fifth is the beginning of a great celebration-Lent! Oh sure, many years when Ash Wednesday rolled around, I found myself thinking rather gloomily, "Oh crud, Lent again! What am I going have to give up and take on this year?"

Today I find myself at a new understanding and appreciation of Lent. It is no longer a season of mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, self-flagellation, and lengthy meditations on the depravity that runs to the core of my nature. Lent is the season of now! And that calls for celebration.

Lent calls you and me to a spiritual practice of now that focuses on genuine acceptance of who we are and how that compares with the person God created us to be. Maybe your reaction is, "Oh yeah, so I can beat myself up, because I can never stack up to what God expects me to be." That's not the right idea. The purpose of Lent isn't to drag you and me into the depths of despair. Rather, it lifts us to the heights of hope.

The now of Lent has the slap of hard cash. It does not deal in the currency of promissory notes-future expectations. The now of Lent does not harass us like a collection agency wanting to be paid for past debts and regrets. The now of Lent simply requests the honor of your presence and mine to be with the presence of God. In that presence, we discover that past debts are forgiven and that future expectations pale in comparison to the possibilities God points us towards.

The spiritual practice of Lent actually runs year-round and is only heightened in the forty days of our season of discipline. And at its heart, this spiritual practice is a celebration. The prison walls of expectation and validation shatter in the now of God's love. Our new-found liberty brings us to the realization that the only desire God has for us is to taste his presence with each breath we take. With that taste running through our being, we are empowered to do marvelous things.

Most celebrations involve giving and receiving gifts. The same is true for Lent. Instead of the dank walls of the prison of expectation and validation, we are showered with the gifts of clarity, insight, discernment, and a deep love that seeks expression in our family, in our parish, in our community, and in the world.

So what's the catch? What do we have to give in return for these wonderful gifts? The short answer is: nothing. These gifts are ours already. We discover them once we have the courage to break the chains of expectation and validation, stand naked in front of God, and be the person God created us to be.

The best gifts are ones that we can use on a daily basis. How can we cope with terrorism, the economy, and the constant threat of war and rattling of sabers? How can we have a chance raising teenagers in today's confusing mix of MTV and puritanical values? How can I cope with worries about what kind of world my toddlers will inherit from their grandparents and me? Questions like these can overwhelm us, but not once we take possession of the gifts of God's generosity: clarity, insight, discernment, and a deep love always seeking an outlet for expression.

So we have lots to celebrate! Lent is nearly here. God has bestowed upon us the gifts we need, not just to understand the world, but to shape the world as co-creators with the Creator. The hard cash of now belongs to you and me. It gives us the confidence, inspiration, and hope to mold a future bursting with peace, compassion, and love.

Joel t