Lent

“Can you do a Lent series for us?” the headmaster of a prestigious private school asked me. Being so eager for the opportunity to speak at the school, I quickly agreed to speak in school assemblies for 4 weeks. Two factors fueled my enthusiasm.  One was that the student body was largely (and by that I mean like 97%) non believers. Most of them had no exposure to the gospel and little exposure to the church.  I was excited by the evangelistic opportunity.  The other was the rarity of getting asked to speak in their assemblies. When I started my job as the local youth pastor, my boss had set up an appointment to introduce me to the head of the school.  We had a nice chat and he expressed some interest in having me come speak.  I was invited just a few times to speak in the next two years. When the new head of the school arrive

So, I set off in my first lent series with the goal of presenting an intellectual argument that God could indeed exist and if so, was a knowable God who has revealed himself in scripture.  I missed the mark of what the head of the school wanted.  I think she was more interested in me explaining the church tradition of lent, but how would I do that among self proclaimed atheists or agnostics?  I quoted Dr John Polkinghorne, a Cambridge scholar, only to find out that the head of the school was a personal friend of John’s. I argued that God indeed did exist and that the death and resurrection of Jesus was the pinnacle of God’s plan.  The next year I got asked back to try again at presenting a Lent series.  I took a little time to explain Lent but then really focused on a more personal approach.  I shared my own story of being a 14 year old considering suicide but discovering that God had other plans for me.  That assembly led to one 14 year old boy contacting me, ending up active in our youth group and coming to faith. I also saw other students quietly telling me that they were curious enough to start to read the Bible.  These were encouraging bits of news.  Yet, somehow I failed to teach on Lent as the head of the school understood it and was not asked back for a future series. I spoke just a few more times at that school before moving away.

Having not grown up Anglican, I did not fully grasp Lent.  And my own Church of England congregation really did not focus on lent at all. We did not cover the cross, and I don’t even remember us doing an Ash Wednesday service.  My first Ash Wednesday service was in the Episcopal Church. It struck me as a potentially helpful time to reflect on our sinful nature and the work of redemption on the cross.  Over the years I have often, but not always, attending an Ash Wednesday service. The years I did were due to sensing a personal need to set aside these 40 days to create some changes in my life. This year I really sensed a need to make a personal journey through Lent to allow God to change some things in my life. I was really struck by these words on Ash Wednesday from the invitation to Lent (BCP): I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word. However, I did not expect God to throw a wrench into my plans and for their to be a potentially life altering experience that would begin now.  What I had hoped Lent would be like is not anything like what I am experiencing now. My wife and I have begun a journey that will no doubt change our relationship and our relationship to God. It’s a journey that hopefully will strengthen our faith and the bonds of our marriage. Yet it is a scary journey as well.  I cannot say more than that at the moment.