Lent

I suppose, seeing as Lent is a season of renewal and forgiveness, that I should start by asking forgiveness for yesterday's blog. Not that the content was offensive, of course, but that I found myself so wrapped up in baseball that I did not comment on what actually merited the space. And no, Bruce, I do not mean President Obama's speech. I mean that it was Ash Wednesday, and an ideal time for reflection on the beginning of Lent.

For many, Lent means fish on Fridays and two lonely days of fasting and perhaps even some of that old Catholic guilt, where we mentally flog ourselves for our smallest transgressions. I fear that, while it may be easy to take such an attitude too far, we do not have enough of that sense about us these days. Let's face it: we are sinful, we do commit evil, we choose to do wrong. Without that recognition, would we truly appreciate the lengths to which God has pursued us? Why should He go to so much trouble for such pathetic creatures? Could it be that He really loves us, despite us?

When you open your mind up to that idea, I think that it tells us more about Him than we may have imagined. He'll be there for us even at our lowest ebb, whether it's when we've done something truly heinous or simply barked something unfair at those around us. He knows we're flawed and understands that, well, better than we might. All he asks is that we acknowledge as much, ask Him His pardon, and try to do better in the future.

Think about that. If we simply admit our guilt and ask for the chance (through His Holy Spirit) and the power to do better, he's okay with that. He'll send His Spirit to us for that purpose.

So I guess what I'm saying is: use Lent for that end. Sacrifice is a good thing, for self discipline purposes. It can be large, or it can be small. I remember one old priest who told me that even something such as putting off a glass of water for ten minutes when you're thirsty counts as sacrifice if done in the right light. But further, use Lent for the self discipline of doing better too: make a Lenten promise to be nicer to that guy at work that you really don't care for, or to say hi to that surly neighbor.

Make yourself do the right thing because it's the right thing, while denying yourself something you like simply to show that you don't have to have it, that you can master your surroundings. When you see that you can make the world better by being better, what does that say about what He expects of us here, and how He will help us here? Yet, conversely, and somewhat paradoxically, when you see that you don't need what's in the world, what's left?

A relationship with He who is not of this world. When you have that, all else falls into place. I think you would be surprised at how much of what you want you'll get as a result.