Lent 2021
Many people view Lent as a time to give up something such as food and social media in an attempt to focus on repentance, faith, death, and resurrection. During a “normal” year, Lent can be a pause from the hectic pace of everyday life and help us focus on the big picture. However, 2020 was not a normal year and 2021 doesn’t look like it will improve much-at least not yet.
2020 was a year of massive loss-nationally, globally, and individually. Not to mention that death has been a constant companion for many of us. It also been made painfully clear that the US is a nation that views the lives of most of its citizens as expandable and idolizes profit and material wealth over human dignity.
Additionally, the pandemic and major snow storms in parts of the country, (including in areas that do not have the infrastructure to support single digit temperatures and snow) has made observing the normal rituals of Lent difficult if not impossible. As a result, I can understand the desire to avoid giving up anything material for Lent-many of us have given up more this past year than we had ever hoped to. I can also understand not wanting to think about death. Many of us have lost loved ones or came close to losing loved ones or even our own lives-we don’t need to be reminded that death is inevitable, we already know that.
So instead of focusing on physical loss and death, I am going to emphasize God’s presence with us in the midst of unspeakable pain and tragedy. Of course, experiencing God’s presence, also means acknowledging the reality of loss and death, but in a way that acknowledges that loss and death cannot and do not have the last word. This Lent, I am going to focus on the ways in which God continually brings new life in the midst of death and decay. I am going to stress the little sliver of hope in the midst of hopelessness.
One way to center the new life that God brings forth is to let go of the aspects of our lives that bring nothing but destruction. While much of the pain and suffering that took place nationally (and globally) could not have been completely avoided it could have been minimized. But in order for that to have occurred, these deeply held national and theological beliefs would have had to have been abandoned long ago.
The last year exposed the lies and the utter devastation that these beliefs cause and yet the resistance against attempts to de-center and dismantle these beliefs is fierce. But in order for us to thrive-individually and as a nation (and as part of the global community) we need to be willing to let go of the beliefs that provide superficial comfort for a few people and institutions but cause lasting harm and devastation for the majority of people, including those who defend said beliefs.
During the next few weeks, I will tackle six theological and/or national beliefs entrenched in the American political and social system that need to be discarded in order to create a more just and equitable world. Easter is about celebrating the new life God promises for each and every one of us-a life that vanquishes death and injustice. In order to participate fully in that new life, we-as individuals and as a nation need to let go of the prosperity gospel, Biblical literalism, Christian nationalism, American and Christian exceptionalism, white supremacy, and the myth of redemptive violence.
This year for Lent, instead of giving up something material, why not let go of the harmful beliefs that directly contributed to the massive sense of loss that so many of us experienced in 2020 and continue to experience in 2021? It’s scary letting go of deeply held beliefs, but Lent demonstrates that we do not embark on this journey alone. God journeys with us.
