By Rev. Shannon Youell
Confession time again. I struggle with Valentine’s Day, and I struggle with Lent. The irony that Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day both fall on the same day this year sets my mind spinning.
Both these observances can appear orchestrated. My daughter and her husband refuse to celebrate Valentine’s Day in the “orchestrated” way, instead choosing to express their love and devotion to one another in a continual living into their relationships. She postulates “why do we need to do something that should already be a part of our lives? It loses its deeper meaning when I get a box of chocolates and dinner on one day a year.” She would prefer being loved and to love all the days of the year as the means to journey with one another in a marriage and other relationships.
Lent, in many ways, is like that for me. I’m not at all opposed to the time set aside to consider and contemplate deeper understanding of the sacrifice of Christ – there is deep discipleship value to this. What bothers me is the idea that my “giving up something” is the similar to what Christ gave up. I have never understood how my giving up coffee, or meat, or even smoking (note: I do NOT smoke but I do LOVE my coffee), is somehow equated with Christ’s sacrifice–in the same way that a box of chocolates does not prove my husband’s love for me.
I was reminded a few weeks ago, in a reading of Isaiah 1, of God’s view of our sacrifices, and it grieved me to recognize, in my own heart, that sometimes my sacrifices are shallow and self-serving. The very opposite of Christ’s sacrifice.
The sacrifices we bring, while not necessarily evil or without some meaning to us, are meaningless to God if, in our comfortable, safe, affluent, lifestyles, we replace the sacrifice(s) God has called his people to. I am far more comfortable on my couch, having given up television for Lent, than standing with, and advocating for, those who are experiencing injustice, poverty, marginalization, and oppression. It is hard work to do so! And I am ultimately lazy; self-satisfied; well-fed; and comfortable.
So, I ask God, what do YOU require of me for Lent? And, His response, every year is pretty much the same: act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God. These are the offerings, the sacrifices God requires of us. And while I have tried to figure out a way to do so from my couch, it just isn’t the intention of God at all. No wonder He detests our symbolic, time-limited, offerings.
God of heaven and earth, of justice, love, mercy, creativity, and salvation, set our hearts afire for your ways and your requirements anew. Make us uncomfortable with how comfortable we are. Break our hearts for what breaks yours. This Lenten season may we truly understand what it means to live a life of sacrifice for You. So be it.
This is a terrifying prayer, my friends, but, as those called out as the people of God to be God’s image bearers in this world, it also seems the very best gift to us all – peace and justice in our broken world.
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