21 April 2009

My Backwards Lent

I just left the desert on Sunday. I'm a week behind, I know.

This year, Lent seemed to be more about coming to a startling realization rather than intentional sacrifice.

I felt more like the wandering Israelites in the wilderness for forty years than the fasting Christ in the wilderness for forty days.

The things I usually give up for Lent seemed so much harder to leave behind. I felt more removed from God than connected. And as I felt the descending sense of isolation, I sat and was acted upon, rather than acting.

Now, as the Christian world celebrates the Risen Christ, I join in the jubilee, but seek the discipline I missed during those forty days.

May the Lord be with me, and all who search for submission to the Father.

Rock on.