The practices of Lent are to give some things up and take up others.  Whether you give up something like sweets that you don’t need anyway, or something that is really meaningful, this is really difficult.

A friend of mine keeps talking about how difficult this season of Lent has been for him, because it makes him aware of how far he is from who he wants to be.  Maybe that’s the point.  Perhaps the first and most important work of Lent is that it forces us to name our weaknesses, distractions and shortcomings.

Maybe it’s less about giving stuff up, and more about realizing how much you need to give stuff up.

I’ve grown in my appreciation of Liturgical Traditions over the last few years.  There are some traditions that are easy to embrace like Advent and St. Patrick’s day.  But Lent is much harder.

For liturgical outsiders, it’s easy to see mock Lent.  It’s that time when Catholics give up chocolate or caffeine only to give in again in a few weeks.  But the truth is, in our hyperconnected, self-obsessed culture, we need Lent, now more than ever.
There’s nothing more out of fashion in pop-Churchianity than fasting.  The idea of purposefully withholding anything is foreign to Americans.  However, as anyone who has ever fasted can tell you, there are few richer and more eye opening experiences than fasting.

Besides fasting, Lent is also a time to practice prayer and justice.  The time and energy freed up by withholding extraneous pleasures is given to talking to God and caring for the poor.

Luke hints of the impending crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus by saying he “turned his face toward Jerusalem.”  Jesus entered a season of determination and preparedness for the task of redemption.  Likewise, Lent turns our faces away from the gadgets, self-gratification and consumerism that shapes our lives and toward the work of God in us and the world around us.
One might read this and say, “yeah, but as Christians, everyday should be like that.”

And maybe they’re right.  But that ignores who we are as people and what God wants in us.  We are seasonal people, whose lives are defined by alternating periods of intensity and rest.  Lent helps us to use that natural tendency to walk with God.  And God doesn’t want us to fast forever.  There are times to celebrate.  And believe me, you’ll celebrate Easter like you never have before.

Do you need Lent?