“What Lent Is and Isn’t"

As we begin our Lenten journey together, I’d like to share something from church historian and author Kate Bowler on what Lent really entails. In a recent Instagram post she said,

For the next thirty seconds, I’m going to de-influence Lent for you.

If Lent is a reset, that is not Lent.

If it’s a glow-up or a plan or forty days to get it together, that is not Lent.

If it promises relief, or closure, or emotional resolution, that is not Lent.

If it expects your grief to behave or your body to cooperate

or your longing to quiet down, that is not Lent.

It started with dirt. You are finite. That is not a problem to be solved.

If Lent is here to fix you or optimize you or make you impressive, that is not Lent.

Lent interrupts the fantasy that one day you will wake up finished, less restless, less tender,

less achy, less human.

The ache is not a phase. The ache is not a failure. The ache is just what it means to be alive.

So this is Lent.

No solutions.

Just honesty, limits, longing . . . dust.

I find Kate Bowler’s comments to be a succinct and helpful description of what it means to be dust. But also remember that the ashes are imposed in the shape of the cross, which reminds us, that even during our Lenten journeys—which are not necessarily confined to a specific season of the year—Jesus walks with us, reminding us that there is nothing in life or in death that can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jack