As Lent Begins

Three days from now, Ash Wednesday will bring in Lent: the Christian church’s season of forty lengthening days (“lencten” from Old English) that lead up to our celebration of Christ’s resurrection. Traditionally, Lent is a time to take stock, turn to God in repentance, and cry out for God’s mercy.

Lent aptly recalls the Latin word "lente" – "slowly." Indeed, the lingering grind of winter can feel lengthy indeed. 

But know this: day upon day, we gain two additional minutes of sunlight. By the time Easter arrives on April 20, we will have gained two hours of daylight.  In the meantime, will we take notice of this incremental brightening? 

Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann writes of Lent as a time of "a bright sadness: the sadness of my exile, of the waste I have made of my life; the brightness of God’s presence and forgiveness, the joy of the recovered desire for God."

Throughout this year’s Lenten season, I invite you to seek out the brightness.  To wake up to wonder with me.  In each weekly Theological Horizons post, we will look out for the tiny quotidian signs of divine grace hidden in plain sight; we will practice a spirit of attention; we will experience, yes, the joy of a recovered desire for God.  

When Easter morning dawns bright and radiant, our sadness will give way to the fullness of God’s brightness. Together we will shout, “Hallelujah!”