A
perpetual
state of Lent
Here in the
Lutheran
Center, the
meeting rooms
on the top
floor are
named after
the seasons
of
the
liturgical
calendar.
There’s
Advent,
followed by
Epiphany and
so on. It
just happens
that our
Women of the
ELCA staff
meetings
have,
for some time
now, always
been held in
Lent. I
laughed as I
told a
colleague one
day, "we’re
in
a perpetual
state of
Lent!" Upon
reflection,
that’s not a
bad place to
be.
In Lent we
are
constantly
moving toward
the
resurrection,
the end (or
the
beginning, if
you
will) always
in sight. In
Lent, we more
purposefully
follow the
disciplines
of alms
giving,
fasting,
prayer, and
service to
others.
In Lent, we
realign
ourselves
with our
creator
God even as
we sing
"return to
the Lord your
God, for God
is gracious
and merciful
and
abounding in
steadfast
love."
Constantly
striving
towards these
goals — it’s
not a bad
thing to be
in a
perpetual
state of
Lent.
The Lents of
my youth were
dour, dismal
days.
The music was
in a minor
key, everyone
seemed
subdued, the
40 days
simply to be
endured.
There
was little
about those
days that was
spring-like,
yet, as you
know, the
word "Lent"
has in its
origins the
meaning of
spring, a
time
of new life
and renewal.
My wish for
you this year
is that you
receive
these 40 days
of Lent as a
season of
renewal.
May you more
purposefully
follow the
Lenten
disciplines,
moving ever
closer to the
promises
that the
resurrection
brings.
