Joyous Lent

Today, I thought a funny Facebook status line would be: "Happy Lent! ...oh, wait..." But fearing that I might offend God-fearers who may not appreciate my self-depreciating since of irony, I held off. I still feel new at the Lent thing. Many of my colleagues are Catholic, and they sat at their desks with a thumb print smeared between their eye all day. I tried not to stare. Besides, my Anglican Service was after work, and my ashes have just recently stopped itching (they're still there, though). I'm still new at lent, since the awkward but reflective post from two years ago.

Tommy preached a great Ash Wednesday Sermon. Hopefully it will be on the church website soon. He brought us to Psalm 51, David's Psalm of repentance, which we read together every lent. And he reminded us that the purpose of repentance, beyond fasting and charity, is the joy of the Lord. The deep joy of being truly known, of being cleansed and of being forgiven. This is the joy of our salvation that David described. If you don't know this, I would say try it, but I can't. It's not something you just try. It's something that you throw yourself into. You can flirt with religion, go through rituals and think about God and good vibes. But at the end, to taste the deeper joy, you repent and believe, and that is to truly plunge yourself into it.

So I should not say happy lent. But whatever somberness, ashes and repentance there is, may it be of the true kind that leads you to joy.