Stripped Away...

"Giving up" for Lent, at its core perhaps, is at attempt to eliminate the distractions between us and God. I don't know if we are very good about remembering that. Trying to follow the 10 Commandments tends to make us hyper-focused on the law...forgetting the One who gives the law. Giving up chocolate may mean we only think about chocolate. Our language around Lent lifts high our challenge to "give stuff up" and but says little about how we are using extra time, space, money or thought to focus on or serve God.

Yesterday we worshipped with no power in the sanctuary. It was cold, colder inside than outside. It was dark. We have a dark sanctuary even with power. But we threw the doors open to the sunshine outside and we worshipped. As the pastor said, "It's what we do on the Lord's Day."

Because of the things we were missing, we all sat crunched up together on the side of the sanctuary where only a few usually sit. We could hear each other sing...not just individually, because that's not always pretty, but when all those voices are put together, we are transformed into "one voice," and that voice can carry a tune! We were "together" in a way we aren't usually. We baptized three beautiful children and enjoyed worshipping with their friends and family, celebrating the larger church of Jesus Christ.

Maybe "giving up" for Lent shouldn't be one thing...but a process of giving up what distracts, what separates us from each other, the excuses we make to not focus on God because of circumstances. It's not as easy; it requires small decisions all the time instead of one-and-done. But perhaps that's the purpose of Lent. Perhaps its a season of checking to see if we can be defined as a people of faith who know how to live in that small decision world, people who make many small decisions every day to keep God first in our lives.

Researchers tell us that decision making is exhausting for human brains. The more choices we have to make, the more fatigued our brains become and then we avoid decisions or make poor ones. We have too many choices. Perhaps Lent is a season of defining who we are by limiting our choices so we are not too busy, or too tired, or too distracted for God.