Little Ways to Lent

Last year, before COVID-19 shut down churches, we walked into our non-denominational church on the first Sunday of Lent and found a printed copy of a Lenten prayer at every seat. I internally jumped for joy. When it comes to all the liturgical things–well, you could just say that after decades of sola scriptura-type church services which passed over things like weekly Communion and blessing candles and Lent, now that I’m in my forties and raising my own kids, I am here for it all.

I have a pretty mish-moshy church background; my family was an assortment of Presbyterian-turned-Lutheran and Methodist, and my stepmom was Catholic when I was growing up, so I sat through my share of Catholic masses. I loved my Lutheran Sunday school teacher, who was my aunt’s aunt, and who loaned me Arch Books to take home and read. My husband, on the other hand, spent his formative years as a missionary kid in East Africa, and he is pretty solidly non-denominational. I devour books on church history and theology, my Strengthsfinder trait of Connectedness driving me to understand why we all believe what we believe, while he is merely content in his knowledge that God is sovereign. I am the one who has fallen in love with the age-old practices of liturgy, and he is content to be along for the ride. He enjoys a good Bee Sting Cake on John the Baptist’s birthday.

My point is, even if you are neither Catholic nor of a mainline Protestant denomination, you can choose to live liturgically in ways that enhance and support your faith. This includes observing Lent.

People often seem to think that observing Lent has to do with self-denial, but that’s not exactly it. Kendra Tierney writes, “Lent isn’t a time to try to punish ourselves into being deserving of God’s grace . . . Lent is a time to grow closer to God: to take up new practices that lead us toward him and to leave behind practices that distract us from him.”

I used to feel like Easter weekend was disconnected and came out of nowhere. All of a sudden, there are lilies on the altar, and we’re celebrating the Resurrection. Lent, for me, was the answer. You spend forty days (as Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness) soaking in the ministry of Christ–all the events that led up to his death–and pondering what that means for your own life. It’s a good time to read through the Gospels.

Kendra Tierney’s book, The Catholic All Year Compendium: Liturgical Living for Real Life, is filled with ideas for making spiritual practices part of your family life throughout the year, and she has some wonderful suggestions for Lent. And you don’t have to be Catholic to make use of her ideas.

If you’re worried that it’s too late to begin a Lenten practice, it’s not. Here are a few things I do that help me turn my focus to Christ during this time:

• Read through one or more of the Gospels.
• Read something with a Lenten focus. There’s plenty to choose from. Find a book, a podcast series, or even a blog series from someone whose theology appeals to you. My favorite is Bread and Wine, a collection of writings by various authors including C. S. Lewis, G. K. Chesterton, and Thomas Merton.
• Don’t just fast from chocolate or coffee because that’s what everyone else does. Choose to step away from whatever it is that takes your focus from God. For example, instead of scrolling on your phone for half an hour at lunch every day, pray or read something with a spiritual focus. But if you eat chocolate as a stress response, by all means, give that a miss for forty days, and when you’re stressed, spend a few quiet moments in prayer instead. Set aside the thing that stands in God’s place and allow God to stand where he belongs.
• Focus on serving others the way Jesus did. At my house, we have a Sacrifice Beans jar for the kids, and while I’m not the one adding beans to it, it reminds me to pay attention and be aware of people who are in need. I find myself reaching out to my family and friends more often, being more intentional about praying for others, and stepping in to serve in little ways I might otherwise overlook. I might send a $5 Starbucks card to a stressed-out colleague, offer to keep a friend’s kids for a few hours to give her a break, or drop of a pot of homemade chicken soup to friends who have been battling illness.

Lent can be a special season of reflection and renewal, a time to cull distractions and renew our relationship with the Lord. I’ve begun to look forward to it every year because it offers me the opportunity to go deeper with Christ, joining him on his path to the cross. What will you do to come alongside Christ this Lent?

A version of this post was first published at The Glorious Table.