Lent is like . . .
As I said yesterday, Lent was not a part of my faith or ecclesiological experience as a child. We were Baptists. More than that, we were Texas Baptists. It wasn't that we were'nt liturgical - we practiced every bit as much liturgy as did the more mainline denominations - we just wouldn't admit it. Our liturgy was somewhat more casual, but we did practice a liturgy.
No, I think the form of Baptist expression under which I was spiritually educated shied away from following the seasons of the Christian calendar mostly because that practice seemed so Catholic - and Baptists had quite a fear of anything Catholic. I never did understand that distance - I actually asked quite a number of questions during my childhood years. Two of my best friends were Catholics, and one of them actually attended my church from time to time, and would enter into conversation on the difference between Baptists and Catholics.
It has been in the last 20 years that I have realized that the word Catholic comes from the word catholic (notice that one version of the word is capitalized). "catholic" means "common" or "universal" - and while I do not believe that everyone is already saved, I do believe that everyone does have a faith pilgrimage. I also believe that everyone, as the scripture teaches, has sinned, and fallen short of God's best for their lives. It is in that spirit that I have entered into the "catholic" faith.
No, I think the form of Baptist expression under which I was spiritually educated shied away from following the seasons of the Christian calendar mostly because that practice seemed so Catholic - and Baptists had quite a fear of anything Catholic. I never did understand that distance - I actually asked quite a number of questions during my childhood years. Two of my best friends were Catholics, and one of them actually attended my church from time to time, and would enter into conversation on the difference between Baptists and Catholics.
It has been in the last 20 years that I have realized that the word Catholic comes from the word catholic (notice that one version of the word is capitalized). "catholic" means "common" or "universal" - and while I do not believe that everyone is already saved, I do believe that everyone does have a faith pilgrimage. I also believe that everyone, as the scripture teaches, has sinned, and fallen short of God's best for their lives. It is in that spirit that I have entered into the "catholic" faith.
Lent, for me, is like a good spring cleaning. Most believers wander through this Christian life, finding times of greater devotion and times of lesser devotion. Just like the dust in our homes, time allows things to creep into our lives that prevent us from "breathing easy" in our Christian life expressions. Lent is a focused time of self-introspection - something that is necessary for every Christian life.
As Lent begins, I am asking God to help me sweep out the corners and crevices of my spiritual life. Too much has accumulated. Too much clutters my spiritual pilgrimage.
posted by the sojourning pilgrim @ 12:08 PM
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