Take a different look at Lent

Many of us, perhaps, go into Lent with a sense of dread about what we can’t do and can’t have. So let’s approach  Lent differently this year.  How?  Let’s go to Cedar Point until March 28. Explore the rides!

The devil tempted Jesus to be self-serving, self-exulting, a real Power Tower. Isn’t that our Mean Streak, too? Jesus responds to the temptations with Scripture. Do we read the Bible regularly? It teaches us to be like the Frog Hopper.  F-R-O-G:  Fully Rely On God.

Lent leads us into the desert, where we become more aware of our egos and how they’re like the Scrambler that mixes up our thoughts so that our needs and wants are more important than those of others. To free ourselves from our small egos that always are afraid and seek control would be a great Lenten penance—a Matterhorn probably. We’ll be transformed into Christ, the Giant Wheel who turned “the worst thing, the ‘murder of God’ into the very best thing, the redemption of the world” (Richard Rohr).

 Traditionally we pray, fast, and give alms.  Do we? Or do we Dodgem? Most parishes provide a Millennium Force of opportunities, such as the Way of the Cross or parish missions. Don’t be a Maverick.  Be part of these events.

The ultimate purpose of Lent is to lead us to the Super Himalaya of the Church Year:  the Sacred Paschal Triduum (March 28-31). We enter into the very life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, an on-going reality, a Kingdom Carousel of joyous victory. One day we’ll meet the Gate Keeper. Will we be recognized as someone who rode the Corkscrew of the Lenten journey into the death and resurrection of Christ?