This year with Easter early so is Lent; I wonder sometimes what to do with Lent. For me fasting from stuff in Lent is rather negative, linked to “ought” or guilt. And I don’t believe that the Gospel, the Good News, is about making ourselves feel guilty because the good news is that Jesus came to set us free from sin and guilt, so that instead of fasting we can be feasting.
So how to deal with this period in the Church’s year where traditionally Christians have given stuff up?
Well, here’s a suggestion – how about giving our time intentionally for God and the World he created and died to save? By that I mean making a plan to use our time in a different way from normal.
It could be to set aside a special time each day to open our hearts and listen to the Lord; it could be to go out and help someone in our street or city or further afield; it could be to contact someone we’ve not spoken to for a long time by phone, letter, email or face-to-face; it could be to switch off the screens in our lives (TV, Computer, Phone or any other distractions ) and spend time making something or playing a game; it could be to join a campaign to put something right (and this can be online or by writing to your MP or going out on a peaceful protest march) because justice and fairness is at the heart of the Gospel.
Let’s encourage one another to be guilt-free this Lent and live out the Good News – it’s never too late!
March Comment by Roz Burch, Lay Reader
This year with Easter early so is Lent; I wonder sometimes what to do with Lent. For me fasting from stuff in Lent is rather negative, linked to “ought” or guilt. And I don’t believe that the Gospel, the Good News, is about making ourselves feel guilty because the good news is that Jesus came to set us free from sin and guilt, so that instead of fasting we can be feasting.
So how to deal with this period in the Church’s year where traditionally Christians have given stuff up?
Well, here’s a suggestion – how about giving our time intentionally for God and the World he created and died to save? By that I mean making a plan to use our time in a different way from normal.
It could be to set aside a special time each day to open our hearts and listen to the Lord; it could be to go out and help someone in our street or city or further afield; it could be to contact someone we’ve not spoken to for a long time by phone, letter, email or face-to-face; it could be to switch off the screens in our lives (TV, Computer, Phone or any other distractions ) and spend time making something or playing a game; it could be to join a campaign to put something right (and this can be online or by writing to your MP or going out on a peaceful protest march) because justice and fairness is at the heart of the Gospel.
Let’s encourage one another to be guilt-free this Lent and live out the Good News – it’s never too late!