Where are we today? Some of us have jumped in with both feet, maybe even setting goals that are unrealistic and are going to lead us to fail. Others have set goals that do change them at all. Both priests last night joked about chocolate and beer. How can we manage that? For some, that’s not an issue. For me to give up beer when I don’t like it, isn’t a sacrifice at all. For others not having a beer for 40 days seems like the worst torture possible.
The key here is not to see Lent as torture, but an opportunity for joy and peace. We aren’t just giving up something to make the world a better place (though that should be our goal as well through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving), we are also supposed to be doing it to grow closer with God himself. The real challenge here is, does my fasting draw me closer to God? Am I doing anything to make more time for Him in my life? Are the problems and goals I am taking on for Him or me? Today’s Gospel says “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
That means growing in detachment by finding those things that stand in the way of getting closer to God. It could be a lot of things. Work, school, golf or sports. Lent is a time when we deny the things we want to do to do the things we should do. Now that doesn’t mean God wants you miserable and sour. He wants you to be happy and filled with joy. The key is: being aligned to the will of God is the most genuine joy. It’s not too late to give up something or to change what we are doing. Just make sure, whether you give up something or add something new in, that whatever it is changes you for more than only 40 days. We must choose something that will make our lives better in the long run, so that on Easter day we aren’t diving into the food we missed and consuming as much in that one meal, and instead, are filled with joy that we have found ourselves closer to God.
A reflection on the readings for the Thursday after Ash Wednesday Year 1, March 7, 2019.