A Long Lent

don't know about you, but I'm already tired of Lent. I know it's only Ash Wednesday, officially the first day in the liturgical calendar. But if you ask me, we've been living Lent this whole year. Wandering in the wilderness between life as we knew it, and life as we hope and imagine it can yet be. Lost and confused at times. Tempted to distract or numb ourselves by things we know ultimately will not satisfy our hungry souls. Not quite sure which way to turn, which way to go.

We were just a few weeks into the Lenten season last year when the pandemic hit. I remember laughing at a friend's Facebook post: "I didn't mean to give us up this much for Lent!" Little did we know it was going to stretch beyond two weeks, then beyond forty days, then beyond the unimaginable 100,000 deaths, then beyond Summer, until finally we've just learned to live with the uncertainty of not knowing exactly when we'll come through, and what our new normal will look like.

I can't say that I relish the season of Lent, just like I can't say I enjoy the book of Job. But I do take comfort that they are both part of our story, that they honor the wilderness times, the pain and suffering that are naturally part of the human experience. Sure, I would love to live in perpetual Christmas joy, Easter resurrection, Pentecost outpouring, but that's just not the whole story. And I have to admit, it has been in some of the most bleak and painful seasons that I've experienced the most grace and provision.

I've always been intrigued by Mark's version of Jesus's time in the wilderness. In between the powerful pronoucement of belovedness in his baptism and the beginning of his public ministry, Mark writes, "And the Spirit drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him." (Mark 1:12-13)

That feels mysteriously true, that our own wilderness times are full of temptation, wildness, and grace. Some days it may be difficult to tell what is what. But might we trust that it is the Spirit that leads us into such times and ultimately brings us through, with the sound of Beloved echoing in our ears?

I hope and pray it may be so, for each and all of us, as we make our way through this long Lent. If you would like some companionship and nourishment on your own Lenten journey, I still have some space in this season's small group and retreat.