GIVE UP LENTEN ACTIVITIES FOR LENT?

When I saw the local funeral director at the post office Monday morning, he asked how I was doing. I responded, "Great! It's the day after Easter!" When I thought about that comment, I wondered why I should be so glad that Easter is over--Easter, the highest point in the Christian year. Actually, the season of Easter lasts eight weeks, so it isn't really over. What is over is Lent.

Lent, a season set aside for reflection and reconnection with God in preparation for the celebration of the Resurrection, often gets filled up with extra activities that can easily keep us from engaging in the reflection and reconnection we seek. There are extra worship services, extra Bible studies, extra choir practices perhaps (in our case, for both Holy Week and Easter), and, of course, practice for the Passion drama Palm Sunday, among other things. This year, we even had a couple of winter storms thrown in for good measure. In addition, I decided this year to try to read through all four of the gospels during Lent. I didn't make it. I didn't have time.

I also didn't have time to take the Lenten retreat I desired in order to sit back and ponder the meaning of both Lent and Easter, so as Easter approached, I felt tense and unprepared. Which makes me wonder whether we ought to give up most of our special Lenten activities and preparations and take just take some time to sit at Jesus feet, like his friend Mary did.

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed [Jesus] into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me." But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:38-42 (NRSV)

I don't know whether I would actually spend more time "at the Lord's feet" if I didn't have all those other activities. Some of them may even help me reconnect with him. But next Lent I just might have to take a look at which of those Lenten activities I might be able to give up in order to spend more time in reflection and less time being "worried and distracted by many things."

In the mean time, happy Easter!

Blessings,
John