Time for Fish on Fridays

Finish up your Hurricanes everyone, Mardi Gras is drawing to a close and Lent is closing in on us.  Lent feels like and uninvited house guest that I knew was in town and planning on staying for a while, but I'm not really sure I want around, especially not for an extended period of time.  Growing up, Lent was more about giving something up, something you really liked.  We were just told that you give something up during Lent.  It wasn't until I was older that I began to hear hints of why people gave things up.  It wasn't until much later that I heard the term "sackcloth and ashes".

I love the tradition of Ash Wednesday leading into Lent, but am struggling to understand the correct context.  It seems like the Gospels would discourage being marked by ash (the example of Pharisees who make themselves look gaunt while fasting), so should we metaphorically put on sackcloth and ashes?  This also leads me to consider what fasting/lamenting looks like when done in community.  Is the example of the Pharisee about how one person makes a show, saying "look at me", but in community with humility it says "we journey together".

I think one of the challenges facing our church today is how do we follow the WAY together.  The nature of our joy and celebration, as well as, the experience of spiritual disciplines must change as we (re)learn what it means to be the body of Christ.

So here's the proposed test.  I think it would be healthy if every time we see one of our "ash-marked" brothers/sisters tomorrow, take the time to say a prayer for that person.  Maybe this can be the year we truly give something up for Lent, ourselves.