Entering Lent --Not Just for Christians: Thursday's Reflection

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday in the Christian religion. The day the sign of the cross is made on our foreheads as the words, "Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return," are recited. 

The ritual is called "the imposition of ashes." And frankly, receiving them is an imposition. In fact, all of Lent is an imposition because Lent demands more of us than we are normally willing to do or be. 

During Lent each of us who identifies as a Christian is asked to:
*   Give up the illusion that I am in control of my life.
*   Examine my addictions and yes, do something about them.
*   Increase my time in prayer and become more disciplined in my spiritual practices.
*   Go to church not only on Sunday, but also Wednesday, and then there is Holy Week, when I might as well take a sleeping bag and camp-out in the Fellowship Hall.
*    Stretch into a deeper relationship with God, which may mean trying a different spiritual practice, reaching out of my comfort zone.
*   Pay attention. Stay awake, unlike the disciples who fell asleep when Jesus prayed in the garden. 
*   Consider my own mortality and how is it I am to live now.


Barbara Brown Taylor calls Lent "Outward Bound for the soul" and Paula Huston refers to it as a time for "spiritual recalibration.

Yes, Lent can feel more like an imposition than an invitation.

But here's the good news. I am not alone on this journey. I have gathered a wealth of guides for the 40 days of wilderness:  
* Devotional readings from Jan Richardson and others, 
* Those Sunday and Wednesday worship services I mentioned--always rich in wisdom and inspiration
* My spiritual director who meets me with her open and insightful heart.
* My spiritual directees who trust me to listen and therefore, I dig deeper to be that listening presence.
* Time to walk the labyrinth, to study and write and be silent. 
* And the promise of Easter.

Obviously, this time of the year has special and specific meaning for Christians, but it can also be a time of "spiritual recalibration" for people of all faiths. Or no faith. Who couldn't benefit from being more aware of how we live and move in the world and how we can each become more caring and giving? Who couldn't benefit from living with a more open heart and being more intentional about our steps on the journey?

           If Lent is to be real at all, we must recognize that
           we are on a journey that twists  and turns between
           what we were before and what we are beginning
           now. There is no settling down. There is only the 
           call of the New Beginning where God dwells in the
           heart and takes all our fear, all our loneliness away.
                                            Joan Chittister

An Invitation
What does Lent mean to you? I would love to know.