Loving Lent
Author: Andrew Comiskey
March 08, 2021
‘Everyone looks out for
his own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.’ (Phil. 2:21)
Jesus’ main interest in
Lent is to lead us into the desert so He can love us there. In the quiet, He
accesses our deepest thirst; He fills us with tender mercies, sweet as rain. He
is jealous for us.
We are mostly
disinterested in this. We claim to be pragmatists, not mystics. So instead of
the quiet, we settle for noisy conflicts between sexy idols and guilt, our
devotion to virtual ‘likes’, the rattle of self-reproach for being soft and
distracted.
Lent invites us to fast,
to deny ourselves, for love. We give up little things for the main thing—His
lovely Presence, ever near, just waiting to look and speak tenderly to us, to
pour out generously upon us. Dulled by too many calories or too much wine? Feel
the ache, the anxiety; invite Him into it for a few minutes. Struggling to be
still? Turn off the computer; leave phones out of reach. Deaf to the still
small voice? Get a little cross or the Divine Mercy image or the sweet pic of
Jesus carrying a little lamb and let Him capture your gaze. Let Him hold you.
Our small Lenten losses
are never an end in themselves. We get into trouble when they are. Thomas
Merton writes pointedly: ‘Endurance alone is no consecration. True ascetism is
no consecration. We can deny ourselves rigorously for the wrong reasons and end
up pleasing ourselves mightily with our self-denial.’ When Lenten sacrifices
become about us--one more reason to reward ourselves for giving up familiar
rewards—we need to repent. Lent is about Him, His interest. He wants only to
root and ground us in His love (Eph. 3: 17-19).
Any self-denial we
undertake is to position ourselves before Him and to allow Him to love us.
Bonhoeffer says it best: ‘Self-denial means knowing only Christ, and no longer
oneself. It means seeing only Christ who goes ahead of us, and no longer the
path that is too difficult for us. Again, self-denial is saying only: He goes
ahead of us, hold fast to Him.’
Selfish, you say. What
about Lenten almsgiving? We give out of the overflow. During our Immerse
nights, having denied myself a few things as to be loved by Him, I notice a
purer, stronger flow of His Spirit as I lay hands on hurting ones. I’ve no
answer for them other than Almighty mercy. Water in their deserts, I pray…
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