Talking about Lent with young children can often be difficult. For adults, Lent is a deliberate time of prayer and preparation for the Week we know is coming. Even as an adult, I still get very excited about Holy Week and Easter morning. The joy of the Easter morning victory becomes very solemn when couched in the incredible pain and suffering of the violent and cruel treatment of Jesus in the arrest, trial, and crucifixion that we often talk about during Holy Week.
During the season of Lent, we are called to reflect on the ‘intersections’ of life that shaped us. Here is a story about one of my most important moments on my journey with Jesus:
Lent is the 40-day period between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday where we journey with Jesus to the cross and rejoice in His resurrection. At this time, we intentionally remind ourselves of our need for Jesus so that when we celebrate on Easter, we really understand it. Some people do this by fasting or giving up something in their lives, while others take on new habits to bring them closer to Him.
The month of February turns many minds to the idea of love. The feast of St. Valentine, who was said to perform secret Christian weddings under Roman persecution, influences our cultural celebration of romantic love. This is much like St. Nicholas, the generous Bishop of Myra, who shapes our cultural celebration of Christmas. But behind both holidays and both saints stands the deep Christian theology of a God of love who gives and loves out of his infinite abundance.
As I have worked to encourage Christ followers to show and share the love of Jesus with those around them, at certain points I always try to steer the conversation to the topic of trust. I do that because we Christians talk a good game – especially about love. Jesus taught that we are to love not just our neighbors, but our enemies as well. Paul devoted an entire chapter of his letter to the church in Corinth to teaching about love and said that only three things would remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest was love.
