he said what?

I heard a word in church this past Sunday that I don't believe I have ever heard in church before!  What's more, it was spoken by my Pastor... from the pulpit, no less!

And, the word was...

Lent.

Some of you may be scratching your head about now... wondering why this is such a big deal.  Well... it's just that I grew up with a Baptist background.  I have always attended Baptist (or Baptist-similar) churches, and, from my experience, Baptists don't do Lent.

Now, if you regularly partake in the Lenten season, please forgive my possible ignorance in this post... I'm no expert on the subject (see above).  But, I have to give props to my Pastor for bringing a "foreign" concept to the pulpit of our church.  It caught my attention, and I've given it quite a bit of thought over the past few days.

I think that there are two main approaches to religion, and, even more specifically, to Christianity... performance and grace.  Performance based is the mindset akin to "impressing" God.  Grace based is the realization that there is nothing we, as mere mortals, can possibly do to impress God.  I subscribe to grace based Christianity.  I believe that there is nothing we can do to earn our way to God.  All I can do is accept the grace he freely offered when He gave His son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of mankind.  Therefore, any "good works" are performed out of gratitude for what has already been done on my behalf.

That said, I still often find myself falling into the trap of performance based Christianity... doing things because I think I should.  But, herein lies the beauty of Lent for a Baptist, like me... since we don't normally do Lent, there are absolutely no preconceived ideas or expectations.  Elements of our regular worship practices can become habitual, almost ritual.  But, stepping a little out of our norm once in a while can allow us to get a fresh perspective.

This was the point my Pastor was making.  His entire sermon was not about Lent.  It was actually from the 11th chapter of Mark's Gospel, where Jesus is found cleansing the Temple. 

(15) On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, (16) and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. (17) And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (NIV)

The point being made was that the Temple area and the "worship" that occurred there had become something it was never intended.  In many ways, the genuineness had been lost and perspective and right motives needed restored.  The same thing can happen with individuals.  Hence, Pastor suggested changing our normal "routine" once in a while to gain a fresh perspective... perhaps Lenten participation as one possible way to prepare the heart for the upcoming Easter holiday.

Ah, Easter.

I have addressed my frustrations with the Easter holiday in a previous post.  It ties in very well with this post, if you have the time to read it.  If not, the crux is this:

"I think a big part of my Easter frustration is due to the fact that my church background has focused so much more heavily on the Resurrection and tended to gloss over the Crucifixion. And why not? Resurrection is happy... crucifixion is not. But, how can you fully rejoice in the Resurrection, without first sharing in the sorrow of the cross?"

I believe Resurrection Sunday is the holiest of days for the Christian.  And yet, I think many of us do it a great disservice by not preparing our hearts through the events leading up to the Resurrection, or by doing it in such a routine way that the significance and genuineness have been lost.

Technically speaking, Lent has already begun.  I mean no disrespect to those of you who adhere to a more strict practice of Lent, but since it is not a regular part of my faith practices, I don't feel the need to adhere to as strict of an iterpretation of the observance as others might.  But, I am considering it... perhaps a "modified" version this year... or observing it another year... or, maybe not at all.

He said what?

Lent?

Yeah... and the cool thing is... he made me think a little out of the box.