Lent is known as a time for “giving up” something we like–and I never quite got that. Imagine six-year-old me, furrowed brow and all, wondering why in the world Jesus, who loves all the little children, would want me to give up those delicious little chocolate eggs. I just couldn’t get around that stumbling block. (If I’d listened better in Sunday school, maybe I’d have been able to quote what Jesus says about that in Matthew 18:6, and then maybe I could have had my chocolate eggs.)
Well, when I was a child, I thought as a child. But I still wonder why in the world God would be satisfied with my giving up chocolate eggs when there are so many richer, deeper, more significant ways to observe a holy Lent.
Prayer, fasting, almsgiving
For centuries and centuries, people have observed Lent with prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. That second one, fasting, is where the idea of little kids giving up chocolate eggs came from. But Scripture gives us other, more meaningful ways to fast. God speaks through the prophet Isaiah:
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? (Isaiah 58:6-7)
Now that is a fast.
Your generous giving to the ELCA’s AMMPARO strategy through Women of the ELCA is an effective way to help let the oppressed go free, to help share our bread with the hungry. AMMPARO seeks to accompany and protect migrant minors–children!–as they seek the safe refuge they cannot find at home. And as you give to help these desperate children and their families, pray for them. Pray unceasingly. That’s how to observe a holy Lent.
Every cent of your generous gift will go to AMMPARO. Your generosity this Lent will make a real difference in people’s lives. Thank you.
Audrey Novak Riley is director for stewardship for Women of the ELCA.
Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash
How to Give to AMMPARO through Women of the ELCA
Congregational Units
Make out your check to Women of the ELCA and write AMMPARO on the memo line. Fill in Form B, entering AMMPARO in one of the blanks, and the amount of your offering. Then mail it to:
Women of the ELCA
c/o ELCA Gift Processing Center
P.O. Box 1809
Merrifield VA 22116-8009Individuals
Make out your check to Women of the ELCA and write AMMPARO on the memo line. Then mail it to:
Women of the ELCA
c/o ELCA Gift Processing Center
P.O. Box 1809
Merrifield VA 22116-8009