{"id":1095,"date":"2019-03-13T09:50:51","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T14:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=1095"},"modified":"2019-03-14T09:54:46","modified_gmt":"2019-03-14T14:54:46","slug":"what-is-lent-all-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/?p=1095","title":{"rendered":"What is Lent All About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wednesday Ecumenical Service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Luke 4: 1-19<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Deacon Larry Brockman<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lent!  It\u2019s that time of year 40 days before Easter when\nsome people give up chocolate or beer or any one of a number of things.  Why? \nWhat\u2019s it really all about?    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well this\nGospel talks very clearly about it.  You\nsee, Jesus lived the very first Lent.  After\nhis baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist, our Gospel today tells us that,\nfilled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and 40\nnights, and that he ate nothing in those days. \nThat means that Jesus fasted for 40 days.  And why did he go into the desert?  To pray and reflect on his life.  Jesus felt the need to go into the Wilderness\nand reflect on his life!    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end\nof the reading today, we see that Jesus\u2019 entire life changed after those 40\ndays.  Rather than being a humble\nneighborhood Carpenter in the sleepy village of Nazareth in the Hill Country, as\nJesus had been for some 20 years of his life- 20 years, Jesus emerged as a\nteacher of a new way of life.  He visited\nall the Synagogues in the area and preached a message of repentance and\nrenewing one\u2019s relationship with God.  And\nall who heard him were moved by his message.   \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then in his\nhome town, he made his mission abundantly clear.  For in Nazareth, Jesus read words from the\nscroll of Isaiah.  Those words described\nhis mission., the mission of the one and only Messiah- the Christ.  And Jesus boldly told his own people that he\nwas that Messiah; that he was fulfilling the prophecy in their own hearing.  Jesus life had indeed changed forever.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Jesus\nemerged changed from his 40-day Lenten retreat, for that 40 days prepared him\nfor what God wanted him to do.  Jesus\nemerged with the understanding that he was the Son of God; and Jesus emerged\nwith knowledge of God\u2019s will for him as a human person.  Jesus was ready for the mission to preach,\nsuffer, die, and be resurrected; all to bring each one of us who follow him everlasting\nlife in the Kingdom of God.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lent is\nsimply that time in the Church Calendar when each of us is called to follow in\nJesus\u2019 footsteps.  We are called to\nprepare ourselves for the resurrection and everlasting life.  We are called to spend time \u201cin the desert\u201d\nfasting, praying, and resolving to find our mission, God\u2019s will for us.  We are called to look forward; not backwards.  We are called to leave our sin and\nimperfections behind, and to be transformed by that desert experience.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the year\n300, Lent had emerged in the Christian Church as a time of penance and\nreflection for the 40 days leading to Easter. \nThere were very strict fasting rules imposed by the early Church.  In fact, the original fast rules only allowed\none meal a day at Noon, and no meat was allowed at that meal.  These rules have been greatly relaxed in\nvirtually all the congregations that still practice Lent formally.  But the need for Lent still exists.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, before I\nforget it, let me mention why Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.  Some of you can and probably have done the\nmath.  If Lent is 6 weeks and 4 days\nlong, that\u2019s actually 46 days.  But\nbecause Sunday was always considered a day of celebration in commemoration of\nthe Resurrection , the Church exempted the six Sundays of Lent from the Lenten fast.  Also, the word Lent is rooted in an\nAnglo-Saxon word that means \u201cSpring\u201d.  This\nis because Spring is the emergence of new life, a new beginning.  That is what our Lenten experience should do\nfor us.  It should help us to leave old\nsinful ways behind and emerge refreshed in spirit for a new beginning.  While this is the root of the English term we\nuse for the Season of Lent, the fact is that in most other languages, the word used\nfor Lent is a derivative of the word 40; the emphasis is that the renewal is\nspread over 40 days.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, Lent has\nbeen part of the Church calendar since the very first centuries of the Church.  Let\u2019s take a closer look at what happened in\nthe Gospel this morning, and perhaps that will give us a few clues about how to\nspend our Lenten season.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, let\nme describe a few historical things about why Jesus did what he did.  Some of you may be familiar with the book of\nJonah.  Almost everybody knows about\nJonah and the whale.  But there\u2019s more to\nthe story than that.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You see,\nJonah tried to run away from God because he didn\u2019t want to follow God\u2019s orders\nto him to prophesy to the people of Nineveh. \nJonah had been told to march through the huge city of Nineveh and to\npreach a call for repentance by the people because the people of Nineveh had\nsinned greatly.  Jonah was afraid to march\nthrough Nineveh and make that proclamation; and what\u2019s more, he detested the\npeople of Nineveh over the great evil that came from within it.  So, he fled on a ship; but was thrown\noverboard by the crew when he revealed his secret.  You see, the crew blamed Jonah for the\nterrible storm that hit the ship because he had angered the Lord.  It was then that Jonah was swallowed by the\nwhale.  From within the belly of the\nwhale, Jonah makes a fervent cry for mercy to the Lord, and a promise to do\nGod\u2019s will.  After 3 days and three\nnights, Jonah was spat forth on dry land by the whale.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Jonah did,\nin fact, march through the city and preach repentance.  He told the people that they had just 40 days\nbefore Nineveh would be destroyed.   But\nalas, what did the people do?  According\nto the book of Jonah, the people put on sackcloth and fasted; and the King of\nNineveh arose from his throne, put on sackcloth, and urged the people to repent.  He issued a decree that all the citizens\nshould repent of their evil fast.  And\nthe people did precisely that.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile,\nJonah climbed a hill overlooking the city, and awaited the destruction of\nNineveh.  It never came because the\npeople had repented; they had changed their lives and had shown humility and\ncontrition for their offenses.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I am\nsure the symbolism in this story hasn\u2019t escaped you.  The people had just 40 days to repent.  They put on sackcloth, an itchy, horrible\nirritating self-mortifying way to walk around. \nAnd they fasted, a common practice associated with penance.    Jonah was in the whale for 3 days and three\nnights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later in\nJewish history, these elements were copied by many Jewish people who were\nlooking to reflect on their lives.  They\nwould dress in sackcloth, fast, and go into the wilderness for 40 days to\nreflect.  In fact, that is precisely what\nJohn the Baptist did before he emerged for his Baptismal ministry.  And by the way, those who were planning to\nenter the early Church, the Catechumenates, were required to put on sackcloth\nand fast beginning Ash Wednesday!  They\nmaintained that practice during all of Lent.  \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, it\nis not surprising that Jesus, who was a devout Jew, would do the same thing- go\ninto the desert for 40 days and wear sackcloth and fast while he reflected on\nhis life.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice that\nthe Gospel this morning mentions Jesus\u2019 fast explicitly.  It says He ate nothing.  Why is fasting considered a requirement and\nwhat value does it have?  Well, many\nmystics have commented on how much fasting helps one to concentrate, to put one\nin the right mode for reflection.  I am\nsure most of you experience that mid-afternoon slumber that comes after a fine\nlunch.  It does make it hard to\nconcentrate without a nap first!  Indeed,\nthere is validity to the Mystics assertion to be sure.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\nare symbolic reasons for fasting as well. \nConsider this- Adam and Eve were asked to do a partial fast.  They were not to eat of the tree of Knowledge\nof Good and Evil.  Sin came into the\nworld as a result of the fact that Adam and Eve broke this partial fast.  And so, when we fast, we display a measure of\nself-discipline that is in the spirit of God\u2019s desire for our first parents.  We are demonstrating that we will\nself-sacrifice something in our life as a symbol of our intent to comply with\nGod\u2019s will, not our own.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now today, I\nthink that it is appropriate to talk about other kinds of fasting rather than\njust fasting from food because the reason that most of us can\u2019t find the time\nto reflect on our lives during the season of Lent  Is that we are just too hung up on activities\nin our lives.  We get stuck in a routine\nthat eats up all our time.  Reading\nfiction, surfing the internet, Facebook, checking e-mails, watching TV, playing\ncards, various clubs, and on and on.  These\nactivities can sap our time so that we don\u2019t have the time, and in some cases,\nwe don\u2019t have the energy to reflect and repent of our ways.  So, if you decide to make a Lenten Fast\nresolution, consider fasting from something that robs you of the time you\nreally need for prayer and reflection.   \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice that the\nGospel this morning is silent on how Jesus prayed and reflected.  Only this do we know for sure:  that Jesus did his 40 days in the Wilderness\nor Desert; that he went there to pray; and that he was tempted by the devil.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now going\ninto the wilderness is an extremely valuable tidbit of information.  You see, that means Jesus needed to go to a\nplace where there would be no distractions. \nOur desert can be the sanctity and solitude of our own homes or rooms.  But of course, that means we turn the ringers\noff on our phones and cell phones; we turn the radio or TV off, and truly make\nan effort to reflect in silence and without distractions, because distractions\nare a perfect way for the devil to derail us, you can be sure.  And it is best to get into a prayer routine.  Pick a time and place every day for your\nprayer so that you get into a routine.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently\nconducted a Bible Study called \u201cLectio Prayer\u201d. \nIt was based on an age-old practice called \u201cLectio Divina\u201d.   This is a Latin term for prayerful reading of\nthe holy scriptures.  The idea is that\nour prayer life is enhanced by using Lectio Divina.  You see, the author of that study made this\ninteresting point.  He said that all\nprayer is initiated by God.  So, that\nmeans we have to listen to God initiate prayer.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know, we\nshould all approach our prayer relationship with God like we approach a\nfriendship.  A true friend listens to what\nwe have to say; but to be a true friend, we have to listen to them as well.  And God\u2019s agenda for us is always more\nperfect than anything we might conjure up for ourselves.  So, opening your prayer with a long list of\nrequests and complaints doesn\u2019t seem like the way to talk to a friend; and it\nis definitely not the way to talk to God.   We should start our prayer humbly asking God\nto talk to us and be prepared to listen.   \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I am\nsure many of you recognize that God speaks to us in very subtle, gentle ways.  But God does speak to us through the\nscriptures, the word of God.  When we\nread scriptures, something usually leaps out at us.  That is often God\u2019s way of asking us to reflect\nmore on it.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And God\nspeaks to us in those nagging feelings you have that something is wrong in your\nlife.  They are God calling you to\nreflect and change something.  Take\nadvantage of the time and solitude you make available in Lent to ponder God\u2019s\nmessages for you, and then get focused for the future, focus on making your\nlife better in God\u2019s eyes.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are\ndone with your reflecting and prayer, hopefully you will emerge with a new Spirit\nof enthusiasm for life and a determination to act on God\u2019s will for you.  In a sense, this call to action is akin to \u201cAlmsgiving\u201d.    Any material favor done to assist the\nneedy, and prompted by charity, is \u201calmsgiving\u201d.  But what is important is that we give of\nourselves out of charity, whether it is time, talent, or treasure that we give.  To be sure, a generous contribution of money\nreally helps the poor.  But our Lenten\nrenewal is about more than that; it means giving of yourself, especially in\nareas that you have the time to help in; or the talent to do something that\nreally helps someone else.  As an\nexample, in a place like this, there can be many lonely or new people.  Extending ourselves to these people is a\nlegitimate form of almsgiving.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That brings\nus to the majority of today\u2019s reading- the three temptations of Jesus.  Jesus\u2019 Lenten experience was certainly not\nunique in that respect.  You can be sure\nthat the devil is going to try to derail whatever progress you make in your\nprayer life, especially if you are resolving to make a change and improve your\nlife.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice that Jesus\nthree temptations are at the end of the 40 days, not at the beginning or in the\nmiddle.  The devil will do or say\nanything to keep us from performing the will of the Father.  He wants us to focus on our own comfort and\nthe satisfaction of our own desires above everything else.  And so, the devil attacked Jesus after he was\nready to return from his Lenten experience and do his Father\u2019s will.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a\nlook at each temptation and see if they apply to us as well.  First, Jesus is prompted to turn stone into\nloaves of bread.  Now Jesus fast is over;\nthe 40 days are done.  He is going to get\nsomething to eat.  But the devil is\ntrying to test Jesus vision of what has the highest priority to him.  He is urging him to satisfy his hunger\nimmediately by foolishly performing a miracle, as if he must have bread\nimmediately to live.  Jesus response is clear-\nwe do not live by earthly food alone.  This\nis a recognition of the fact that even before our need for food and water there\nis a life force that sustains us.  We\nneed always to recognize the God given life force above our bodily needs.  We need to be in harmony with God, the\nprovider of our life force.  That comes\nbefore any desires of the flesh- food, water, companionship, and pleasure.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second\ntemptation is one of power.  The devil\noffers all the Kingdoms of the world- fame, power, control- all that would be\ngiven to Jesus if he would worship the devil. \nJesus response is ever so clear- \u201cYou shall worship the Lord your God; Him\nalone shall you serve.\u201d    Basically, the\nheart of this temptation is a desire to be totally independent.  It says that we don\u2019t need God.  Indeed, the lust for power, money, and\ncontrol all indicate the desire to be self-sufficient, for security on our\nterms.  Our world is plagued by many\npeople who don\u2019t trust in the Lord; they want to be in control.  And they foolishly seek money and power and\nall those things the devil offered to Jesus, as a means to security.  But all these things can pass away!   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, anything\nthat serves to consume us in this way is like an idol.  It can control our lives; but it cannot give\nus everlasting happiness and the Kingdom of God.  But we are tempted, because we like to be in\ncontrol.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the third\ntemptation, Jesus is taken to the high place in the temple and is tempted to\nthrow himself down from the heights.  The\ndevil asserts that if Jesus is the Son of God, then the angels will come to his\naid and he will not be hurt.  Jesus\nresponse is that \u201cYou shall not put the Lord your God to the Test\u201d.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\ntemptation encourages us to presume too much. \nWe can presume that no matter what we do, God always loves us and will\nsave us.  We presume too much when we\ndon\u2019t take our sins seriously by simply saying that we believe.  Not so; for that is putting the Lord God to a\ntest.  God gave us life, talents, and a\nset of rules to live life by.  He sent\nhis son to die for us and to offer us a path to share in everlasting life.  We cannot presume that his mercy will be\ngiven to us.  It is our obligation to\nlive our lives in such a way that we are always prepared for the day of\njudgment.  For after all, Faith without\nworks is dead.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, our\nGospel tells us that the devil left Jesus \u201cfor a while\u201d.   Indeed, our battle with the devil is ongoing;\nbut it comes in increments.  It comes\nespecially during times of weakness, like Jesus in this story.  Jesus was weak from 40 days of fasting- and\nweary from the harsh wilderness experience. \nIt is then the devil attacked him; and it is in our moments of weakness\nthat the devil will attack us- when we are not feeling well; when we are\ndistraught; when our defenses are down from alcohol or drugs.  In any of these or like situations, the devil\nwill be there.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, Lent\nis that season of the Church year in which we have the chance to follow in\nJesus own footsteps in order to get ready for the Resurrection of the Lord and\nthe Everlasting life that he offers us.  It\nis a time for us to practice self-discipline and self-control.  It is a time for us to break away and reflect\non the meaning of our life.  It is a time\nfor us to make a change for the better.   \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can best\nprepare for Easter by a regimen of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.  But expect to be hounded by the devil, who is\nrelentless in his efforts to get us to focus on self and not the Lord.   \n\nLent can and should be a joyful experience for\nthose who love God.  Whatever it takes to\nget closer to the Lord should make us joyful. \nAnd that is what Lent is really about- a new beginning, no matter what\nhas happened in the past.

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wednesday Ecumenical Service Luke 4: 1-19 Deacon Larry Brockman Lent!  It\u2019s that time of year 40 days before Easter when some people give up chocolate or beer or any one of a number of things.  Why?  What\u2019s it really all about?    Well this Gospel talks very clearly about it.  You see, Jesus lived the very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[116,276,9,298,561],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1095"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1096,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1095\/revisions\/1096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}