I don’t give up anything for Lent. I used to.
Chocolate.
Wine.
Beer.
Coffee. (that was dumb…)
Salty snacks.
Desserts.
Television.
The usual.
Finally, I gave up on giving something up. In my experience, nothing spiritual came from giving up something non-spiritual. And like everyone else who has shared my experience, I was confused, and discouraged, and depressed at the end of a 40 day self-imposed deprivation that didn’t yield the promised sanctification.
So, I did the Christian thing, and I went to the book. Maybe I’d find answers in the scriptures…I found that Jesus didn’t ask his disciples to give up non-spiritual things to achieve spiritual purposes and outcomes. I also found that Jesus didn’t ask anyone to join him in the wilderness to undergo his sufferings and temptations with him (which is often cited as the rationale for Lent). But what I did find was Jesus called his disciples away from one pattern of living to an entirely new one, and not just for 40 days. It was a calling AWAY FROM and a calling TO. It is a repeated pattern in the gospels and beyond.
He called Simon, Andrew, James, and John away from commercial fishing to angling for new converts.
He called Matthew and Zaccheus away from tax-collecting and grifting to doling out the riches of heaven.
He called Mary, and others, away from demon-possession to sharing God’s heart.
He called Paul away from pogroms and persecutions to tent revivals and church planting.
The problem with our Lent is, it is too manageable and limited to contain any real grace. And it doesn’t match the ministry of Jesus in the gospels. Again and again, Jesus called his followers out of an old life into something new and better. Instead of a voluntary 40-day asceticism, what deeper calling of grace is Jesus whispering to you? What old way is he calling you away FROM, and what new fullness and fruitfulness is he calling you TO?
Is he calling you from listening to a clamor of empty voices to listening for his eternal voice in scripture and prayer?
Is he calling you from frantic busy-ness to purposeful reflection?
Is he calling you from over-valuing work to valuing home more?
Is he calling you from success to service?
Is he calling you from worry, and anxiety, and fear to faith, and rejoicing, and bold confidence in his love for you?
Is he calling you from fractured schedules to togetherness?
Is he calling you from the frenzy of a full-tilt world to simple, quiet, regular spiritual formation together as a family?
Is he calling you from all kinds of urgent distractions to listening to him, seeking him, rejoicing in him together in family worship?
Whatever it is, you are in good company. If Jesus is calling you away FROM and calling you TO, he is also calling you by a favorite name granted to many of his friends—he is calling you, DISCIPLE.
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