by Reverend Gerry Bennet, Assisting Priest,
(from March 2001 Tidings)
Gerry’s Geriatric Glimmerings
A Time for Study, Discipline, and
Renewal
As I write this, I am struck by the fact that our Church seasons are
moving on apace. We have passed swiftly through three of the seasons, Advent, Christmas
and Epiphany. Lent is upon us.
Lent is traditionally a call to repentance, a season of penitence. It is,
however, more than that. Lent is also a time for study, discipline and renewal. Each of
these Lenten "calls" deserves consideration.
We live in a society where guilt is not an acceptable trait (I'm, O.K.
You're O.K. syndrome), and so the feeling of a need for penitence is missing from many. As
Christians we know that our constant acts of turning away from our Lord result in a
patient call to, "return to Me . . . " We fall away through negligence and
weakness, while He invites us to return over and over. However we do not hear the call
unless we sense our need. So Lent becomes a time of turning away from attitudes and
behaviors which are in opposition to Christians concepts. It is a time to repent and
return to Christ.
Study is an ancient purpose of Lent. At a time of Christian growth in the
early Church, it was necessary to provide a time of learning for the newly initiated to
understand the teachings - The Good News. Much is to be gained by studying Scripture. We
become better members of any group if we understand the history and purpose of the group.
Members of the Body of Christ are not an exception to that statement; we are most
assuredly in need of understanding our role as participants in a living society in Christ.
An extensive period of time was needed to provide preparation, and Lent was extended from
six days to six weeks (40 days). Sundays are excluded, since Sundays are feast, not fast
days. Since fasting was, and is an integral part of preparation for an approaching Easter,
discipline becomes an important aspect of Lent.
We need order in our lives. While it is true that some of us are better
ordered than others, our lives frequently become disordered with the hectic pace our
circumstances require. A time is needed to withdraw slightly from the world, to look at
our lives objectively and to put back the pieces in some semblance of order. But just as
we cannot long sustain a time of repentance, we cannot be well-ordered day-in, day-out.
Recognizing these truths allows us to reserve times to reset out lives. This discipline is
seen by some as need to "give up" some bad feature of life, be it food or habit.
But a fasting discipline can take a good habit as well as throw off a bad one. Whatever
approach we take is an attempt to re-order our life in the Church, in Christ Jesus.
We renew and strengthen our spiritual lives during Lent. To paraphrase the
1979 Book of Common Prayer, Ash Wednesday service, "We need to be aware of the need
which all Christians continually have to renew their repentance and faith." The
prayer book invites us to, "observe Lent by self-examination and repentance; by
prayer, fasting and self-denial; by reading and meditating on God's Holy Word."
Yours for a most holy Lent,
Gerry+
See Father Gerry's previous columns:
  
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