The Meaning of Lent - for me.

Why?

Now that Lent has started, the usual questions keep popping up from well intentioned people around me. Why? Why do I have to give something up? Isn’t it better to just pray more, or pay more attention to the scriptures, or read the Bible more often? What’s the point of giving up chocolate or coffee (bananas in my case, but more on that later…)

That got me thinking about why in fact did Jesus go out into the desert and fast for 40 days in the first place? And that’s when I discovered what for me is the real meaning of Lent.

In Matthew 4:1, we read: “THEN Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry.” We all know the story of course but did you pay attention to WHEN this happens? (note the all caps THEN - so important). This happens right after Jesus is baptized by John. This is BEFORE Jesus starts his ministry. Jesus goes into the desert to be transformed into the real Jesus.

Before that moment he hasn’t even performed his first miracle at Cana. He has only just been baptized. This is a profound symbol of his new birth. He then goes into the desert for 40 days, which again symbolizes the Exodus from Egypt that lasted 40 years. Meaning, he cannot step into his full ministry until he DIES to his old self; the way an entire generation of Israelites had to die before entering the promised land. Have you ever tried to fast for 40 days? My guess is no! The most I have voluntarily fasted is 3 days and that was hard. I have fasted for longer while being sick, so it is possible to not eat for a prolonged period of time, but 40 days?!!!

That will kill your old self. Which is exactly what Jesus had to do. And the proof is in the temptations that the devil threw at him. Hunger, comfort, rewards, all the things that we strive to secure in our normal everyday lives. We are so busy running after these things that we forget God. Plain and simple. God says: “Therefore I say to you, be not solicitous for your life, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than the meat: and the body more than the raiment? Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?” (Matthew 6:25 Douay-Rheims)

That is the meaning of Lent. Find God! Trust in him. Learn to live without fear, so that God can move in and direct your life. Because of our fear, we attempt every trick in the book to not have to confront hard times. Who wants to be hungry? Who wants to be poor? Who wants to be homeless?

Lent is spiritual training. Just like sports training, we need to train our spirit. So observe what God wants to change in your life, perhaps a bad habit like drinking booze or watching porn; and then KILL THAT PERSON!