Lenten Sacrifice

Today is the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday. Lent is considered by virtually all Christian denominations as a time of preparation for Easter. We spend these forty days meditating on the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. We are reminded of our own mortality, symbolized by the ashes, and what will happen when our life here is over. Not every denomination places ashes on the heads of believers, but they are a poignant reminder that we are, indeed, dust and will someday return to that state.

I’ve heard people talking about what they’ll be giving up for Lent. I also hear the underlying regret that they must put a favorite candy, food, or beverage aside for the season. I find this very sad. The sadness doesn’t come from the fact that they’re thinking about sacrifice, but that they seem to resent the imposition that giving something up has on their lives. My question to them is, “Then why do it?”

I grew up in a Catholic home. Thanks to one of the Sisters who taught at my high school, I have a different perspective about Lent. She taught us one year that Jesus doesn’t really care what we give up for Lent. He really wants to know what we’re going to do for Lent. Her point was that if we’re giving something up, and complaining about it, then we’re being quite selfish. We need to remember – this isn’t about us! She inspired me to attend Mass every morning that Lent before school. That meant I needed to get up earlier and hurry to keep the schedule, but I will never forget how good it felt to begin the day meeting with God.

When Jesus told believers to take up their cross, he was talking about developing a lifestyle of service. Does it really matter to the kingdom if we eat a candy bar, or drink a can of pop once in a while? Of course not; but what if we went to a women’s shelter and passed out those treats to the women and children living there? What if we packaged meals for starving people, or attended church more regularly, read our Bibles more, prayed more, gossiped less, reached out to the unlovely?

God certainly calls us to use our gifts and talents for the building of his kingdom. I think he’d much rather have us share ourselves in his name, than grumble about “giving something up.”