Happy Lent

By Rev. George Borghardt

And when you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites, for they darken their faces in order to appear before men as fasting. Amen I say to you, they receive their reward. (St. Matthew 6:16)

It’s Lent again. It’s time to get all Lent-y, all gloomy, grumpy, and do a lot of pious sighing. You know the kind: the long, loud sigh that announces to everyone around you just how much you’re suffering for Jesus’ sake. It’s also time to give up something for Lent. After all, the little (or big) thing you give up will surely show God, or at least everyone else, how deeply repentant you are. Oh, and Lent means it’s time to pray more too. You better get moving. There’s a lot to do in Lent!

Well, hold up there for a second. That’s the Lent of the Pharisees, disfiguring their faces, acting grumpy, walking around all solemn, sad, and even angry. The Pharisees literally rubbed their faces with sooty ashes to shine a very public spotlight on their repentance.

“Look at me! It’s Lent, so I’m fasting and very, very grumpy.” Is that your kind of Lent too? If so, how are you any different than the Pharisees?

Now, don’t get me wrong. Fasting is good. It’s in the Scriptures. Lutherans are free to fast. Lent is actually a great time to start a fast, since this is the season when the Church fixes her eyes specifically on the suffering and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We cover our heads with sackcloth and ashes, giving up our alleluias to better focus our attention on what Jesus is doing for us in the readings each week. He’s going to the cross, and we go with Him.

But fasting shouldn’t just be about giving up your sacred, favorite snacks like Diet Coke or Mike-n-Ikes. Lent isn’t a season of self-improvement. Diets and exercising are good things for you.You can start them any time. You don’t have to start them in Lent.

Repentance. That’s what Lent is about. It is about Christ and Him crucified for our sins. That is what is before our eyes throughout Lent. We give up the idols we love most, removing from our lives whatever gets in the way of Christ. And nothing focuses our attention more on Christ and His suffering and death for us than a little bit of fasting. But if some bodily fasting is the most you do in Lent, then you’ll get your reward in full.

Give up your sins for Lent. Give them up now. Fast from doing the evil things you do. Give up your idols: the treasures that make your day, the things you trust. Stop your evil.

Stop it now.

Then while you’re giving up some real idols, give up your Lenten sadness too. Give up your mourning. Give up your guilt. Give up being scared that God is going to punish you for your sins. Give up your looking like it’s Lent. Give up your dark clouds and gloom.

Lent isn’t about your pious acts of repentance. It never was. You should fast from that self-centeredness too. Lent is about this: the One who was born on Christmas, who made His epiphany by wise men and miracles, the One has come to save you. He’s making His way to Jerusalem to suffer and die on the cross for your sins.

On Good Friday, you see the true joy of Lent. On the cross, God Himself answers for your sins. He’s done what you could never do: He kept the Law perfectly for you and then suffered the punishment for all your sins.

That bears repeating.That’s God Himself on the cross for you.That’s God, suffering and dying in your place. That’s God doing what God does best: saving you from your sins.

That also makes Lent the time to run to the places where Jesus delivers His cross-won gifts to you. Run to your Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Those baptismal waters are the waters that flow from His pierced side. His Supper is where you are nourished by the same body that suffered and the same blood that poured out for your sins that Good Friday. Be forgiven. Be at peace.

Happy Lent! Be joyfully solemn (or is that solemnly joyful?) in the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus for your sins. Put on a repentant smile today. Walk out of church justified. In Christ, God Himself has answered for your sins. All that God could be upset about in you died with Jesus. That makes “Good Friday” not just good; that makes Lent happy too.

Rev. George Borghardt III is the Associate/ Youth Pastor at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe,Texas. He also serves as the Conference Executive for Higher Things.