'No pain, no gain'
Lent is supposed to be hard
‘I cried a LOT. I was in pain every step of the way. It was so cold I don’t think I’ll ever feel my fingers again. I have never been happier in my life.’
This was my social media post from November 2, 2014, just after I finished the New York City Marathon. It was the first marathon I ever ran. It was the culmination of a 20-year dream, and of months of training. Getting up well before sunrise to spend hours in a lot of discomfort. Doubting myself at times, wondering if I was good enough. Fearing that I wouldn’t be able to do it.
The pain was intense. The gain was immense JOY.
This week, we begin the season of Lent. We begin our preparation for the holiest and most important time for our faith: the events of Jesus’ arrest, trial, crucifixion and resurrection.
Everything that makes Christianity what it is: our salvation, and the salvation of the world.
Because the observance of Holy Week - and finally, Easter - are so central to what we believe, we devote ourselves to a season of readying our hearts and souls to experience it once again.
We don’t just remember that the last week of Jesus’ life and his triumph over death happened once, a long time ago. We participate in it. We put ourselves there, in the spirit of pilgrims throughout the world, throughout history, as we walk through the events of Holy Week.
It’s beautiful, and it’s challenging.
Lent is our time to get ready for a spiritual, emotional, and physical marathon.
The finish line is Easter JOY.
Which is why I am dismayed to see so many articles and social media posts about how we don’t really have to ‘give up’ something for Lent.
How we should take something on - exercising more or serving at the food bank. Maybe we should do something positive - start a gratitude journal, give to charity. The implication is that Lent doesn’t have to be so gloomy. Doesn’t have to be so hard.
Lent is supposed to be hard.
Not hard for its own sake - not punishment. But as a way to survey our interior fitness for receiving as much joy as possible when dawn breaks on Easter morning.
Because we understand - as much as we are able to - how God is reconciling the whole world through the power of love.
The Episcopal Book of Common Prayer describes very clearly how we should observe Lent: by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word (p. 265).
It doesn’t say ‘pick one of these’. It says ‘do all of these’.
This is hard. It might be too hard. And of course that’s ok - no one has to do anything.
You’re invited to. Lenten discipline gives us the time and space to encounter what stands between us and fully knowing how much we are loved by God.
We are called into a preparing of our souls for joy.
This is why we’ve created the Your Life with God Spiritual Exercises - to help guide us through Christian faith practices in order to bring us deeper in relationship with God.
Lent is the most-practiced and most important season of the year for Christians. It’s also the hardest.
We invite you to practice with us.
Join us this Lent for the first YLWG Exercise - ‘Strength’.
We’re going to engage the practice of ‘Confession’ as our discipline. This discipline encompasses self-examination, repentance, prayer, and reading and meditating on God’s holy Word (see the end of this post for fasting and self-denial).
Week 1: Sin, Forgiveness, and the Bible
Week 2: Worship and Confession
Week 3: Preparing for Confession
Week 4: Schedule the Sacrament of Reconciliation (or a private confession rite)
(yes, there are more than 4 weeks of Lent. The practices aren’t tied exactly to a schedule. You’ve got a lot of grace time!)
‘No pain, no gain’.
Of course this is most recognized as a slogan from an athletics company. ‘Put in the hard work to reap the rewards,’ is what it means, though in way that is much more succinct and memorable.
The ‘pain’ of Lenten discipline is being willing to walk through the desert of our interior lives.
The ‘gain’ is Easter joy.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, which is one of two official days of fasting in the Episcopal Church.
Join us live on Ash Wednesday at 7am and again at 5pm to begin and end our fasts together with brief online prayers. You’ll receive a link to join if you’re a ‘gym’ member. If you’re not, join us here…
"We are called into a preparing of our souls for joy."
Kenosis and theosis.
Pouring ourselves out of our own hearts to make space for God to abide.
Are you going to give us some guidance on fasting?