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Growing up in a pastor’s family, church holidays like Advent plus Christmas or Lent plus Easter were different than the rest of the year. When I look back, I have a ton of stories from Advent and Christmas (if you ever want to hear my Jimmy Little and the Christmas Nativity adventure of 1974, just ask). I don’t have any comparable stories for Lent. But I suspect that is true for most of us. Lent just doesn’t lend itself to the kind of heartwarming or funny stories like the Advent and Christmas seasons do.
Actually, being a preacher’s kid, even Easter doesn’t bring any real stories to mind. In our family, Easter morning was a zoo with Dad heading off for sunrise service and Mom trying to get us more nicely dressed than normal (yeah, that didn’t really work for me) and there was some attempt at finding eggs and Easter baskets. It wasn’t until later years that we learned Mom made finding the eggs really easy so we would find them faster so she could get us to church.
For most of us, there are no equivalent Lenten stories to the Advent stories of John the Baptist or the angel visiting Mary or even the prophet Isaiah’s words. Even the traditions of Advent and Lent aren’t really comparable. During Advent, we put up Christmas trees and decorate the sanctuary and wrap presents and bake cookies. For Lent? The only Lenten tradition most of us know is to “give up something for Lent” like chocolate or caffeine or red meat on Fridays.
In a sense, that’s too bad. Because Lent can be something that does bring fulfillment and wonder into our journey of faith. There may not be Lenten carols equivalent to “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World” but Lent is a time where we can encounter Jesus in a way unlike any other time. Our world is as crazy and busy now as it was in December yet Lent is a time that we can often set aside a little of that noise to gather ourselves to meet Jesus in ways we otherwise never would.
If there is one common thread of the stories about Jesus during Lent, it is how after every public or busy time, Jesus then either finds a time, no matter how brief, to gather himself or he returns to where his closest followers – his disciples – are. That can be true in our season of Lent in 2024. We can gather ourselves, in peace, with Jesus. Or we can even come back to where Jesus’ followers are today – here, in our church communities with those who want to find Jesus.
So during this season of Lent, find where Jesus is for you. Or come to where Jesus’ followers gather; come to one of our churches and find the true meaning of Lent.
Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Ted McCulloch, Stated Clerk
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