by Scott Lencke
Christians around the world, including the counselors and coaches at Kardia Collective, know that this past Wednesday we entered into the season of Lent. It all begins each year with Ash Wednesday.
Lent comes from the Dutch word Lente, meaning "Spring" (I think there's some German background in there as well). It's a 40-day season (not counting Sundays) centered around a time of examining our lives, repentance, and fasting. We do this as we remember Christ's own 40-day period in the wilderness.
In all, Lent culminates with the weekend of Good Friday, Silent Saturday, and then Resurrection Sunday.
But many people may ask why participate in Lent? It seems so stuffy and religious, perhaps outdated.
So why take part in it?
Before I go on to answer that question, I ask that you watch a very brief video just below. What you will find is a camera focused on one particular spot. This camera just sits there day after day, week after week, month after month, season after season. The shot helps us peer into a particular setting of creation, watching the changes and adaptations over a 365-day, one-year period.
Take 45 seconds and watch.
It's amazing how fast the video cycles through 365 days. Almost too fast, at least from my perspective.
But here's the connecting point with Lent.
God has set up creation in such a way that it cycles through four seasons each year: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Some places may have only two distinguishable seasons, but generally, we have been given these four seasons as gifts.
I personally love fall — the significant changes that take place across nature; the leaves as they turn yellow, orange, and red; the cooler weather (but not too cold).
It all draws me in.
Seasons.
Cycles.
Rhythms.
This is what we have in creation. And just as creation rhythmically cycles through the seasons, so too has the church been given a rhythmic cycle to walk through year after year after year. We've been doing this now for centuries upon centuries.
It's called the Christian calendar.
It's our rhythm. It's our liturgy.
That is what liturgy is about at its core. It's not essentially about "stuffy, religious rituals," but rather the regular rhythms set in place to assist the church in being spiritually formed in the image of Christ.
The Christian calendar is a tangible way to engage with the bigger story of our faith in Christ. It provides a kind of sensory opportunity for seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling the grand story that is centered in God's work through Christ.
I encourage you to watch one more short video.
It helps in making the story more practical for us.
As you watch the video, remember how that one spot in creation cycled through the rhythmic changes of the seasons. The trees, the bushes, the leaves, the grass were all formed as creation moved through the seasons. And then imagine how the church can be rhythmically shaped in Christ as it walks through the beautiful story of the Christian calendar.
Blessings in this Lent season as we seek him through reflection and repentance.