Food for Thought for Lent

Lorraine, over at Here's The Thing, wrote a really thought-provoking piece on Lent. It made me a bit wistful for my Catholic roots. One thing I miss about Catholicism is the ritual, the tradition, the history. Practicing Catholics - not those folks who claim Catholicism as their religion, but those who live it - have all sorts of celebrations that we Protestants don't. And while it may seem silly to some, those celebrations help bring the focus of one's life back to Christianity. Whether it's celebrating a saint's day, and in doing so, remembering what made that saint saintly, what sacrifices they made, what their significance to Christianity is, or observing Lent, and walking through that desert along with Jesus, fasting, praying, denying ourselves, those traditions help make one's Christianity real and meaningful. That is not to say we non-denominational Christians don't strive for the same exact things, don't observe the same notable occasions, albeit differently - we do. It's just different. I don't know a lot of my Christian friends who pay a lot of attention to Lent, who give up stuff, who go into the desert for those 40 days preceding Easter. Maybe I know the wrong people. I know I have only given Lent a passing thought, and boy, could I stand to give up a few things - like food for one. Lorraine's post made me think about my faith, my relationship with my Lord, my relationship with people around me, and how much more I could be doing to show His love and His grace to them.

In addition to Lorraine's post, I received the monthly newsletter from Whitworth College not too long ago. The President of the school, Bill Robinson, is a really incredible man. The school would not have the character and atmosphere it has were he not the President. Each month he writes this newsletter - and it's not something he whips out in an hour folks. This is a really great newsletter. He begins it with a sort of monologue that almost always makes me cry, and never fails to make me think. And since we're on the subject of Lent, here's an excerpt from this month's newsletter that is right in line with Lorraine's post:

• This is the first Sunday of Lent. At once, I am grateful and dumbfounded by God's grace. I am not, however, in church. I had to travel today because I was home yesterday watching our men's basketball team win the conference championship. So I admit to feeling a little more basketball happiness than Lenten contrition. I do, however, have one Lenten thought. Just before I started writing this, my iPod vaulted ruthlessly from 22 sacred choral arrangements to a decidedly non-sacred song about chasing women. Today's text in the liturgical calendar is Matthew 4, Christ's temptations. It struck me that Satan's opening salvo was not tempting Jesus with something bad (like chasing women) but with something good: bread (whole wheat, no doubt). Jesus liked bread. He turned a little of it into lots of it when 5,000 people were hungry. He honored it as the food to memorialize his broken body. We're probably less prepared to resist the temptation of good things than that of bad things. But good things for the wrong reasons can compromise us. Good things in excess can weaken us. Good things at the wrong time can distract us. Good things beyond what we need can deceive us. Good things outside of our calling can divert us. Often the "mission drift" of an organization moves in the direction of good things. As you probably know, we will become Whitworth University in July. With that change will come temptations, most of them in the form of good opportunities. But good is bad if it compromises our calling. We need discernment in the next few years. We need to be faithful. Jesus knew when good was bad. So must we. Keep us in your prayers.

Wow, how good is that? It's really comforting and reassuring to me to know that this man, this regular guy, father, husband, servant of Christ, is in charge of educating our kids - my kid, our future leaders, the nation's hope. I know I am often tempted by good things - and often fail to resist that sort of temptation. Bill's comments have given me much food for thought, as have Lorraine's. I've got to run. I'm late for Lent.