In The Time Of Lent

SAT., MAR. 12, 1988, 7:01 AM
FARM, STUDY

This is the season, according to the Christian calendar. It is the time of preparation for the Easter season. One tradition is that of sacrifice… giving up something enjoyable but unnecessary for this time, as a reminder of the sacrifice I made for humankind. You have rarely done such penance, and Lent is not a major season for you. Hear My thoughts, o son, on this theme.

You have two major tasks to complete during this Lenten season, and I would like you to see these as related to Lent, as some more assurance that they will be completed. It is just as appropriate to pledge some positive tasks as it is some sacrificial ones. I actually prefer the positive affirmation rather than the “giving up” one. I would have you see what I did, as Jesus, in a positive light. I gave My life willingly and as a positive gift. It was taken from Me only in the form. There were many ways, both natural and supernatural, that I could have altered and stopped the proceedings. I let it go on because I was offering a positive gift.

Likewise, these letters of yours are positive contributions to the lives of friends, colleagues, and those on proximate spiritual paths. Identify each with Lent as you compose them, in spirit as well as in words. Feel the mixture of positive offering and sacrificial gift.

Now let’s deal with some of the reasons this is not a particularly important season for you. First, you did not grow up in a tradition that put great emphasis on Lent. There was no service on Ash Wednesday… no application of the ashes to mark the commencement of a season. Yours was not a sacrificial tradition, like the Roman Catholic, so you knew those who gave up “things” for Lent, but this wasn’t a tradition in your family or your church. Early traditions and repeated practices can be influential, either in their presence or their absence.

Yet if this were really important to your born again faith you would take some action. Early practices can be influential, but they never determine, absolutely, how you feel or what you do. All right, you are almost a bonafide senior citizen, with many Easter seasons in your past. While it is good to remember all that happened between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, you now know quite clearly “how it comes out.” It is no surprise that I rise from the tomb, showing that death applies only to the physical body. The spirit lives on in active form, and so it shall be for each one of us who knows this and expects it. So if you are quite aware and appreciative of the end result, and it is the same each Easter morn, then why all of the focus on what preceded this ultimate victory?

Well, I have some sympathy for this attitude. I am a bit “put off” by Christians who continue to focus on their years of sinning that preceded their coming to Me. An occasional recollection and sharing of this is acceptable… even good… but once the conversion has come about, look to the now and the future. If your life has been changed, revel in this position transformation and spend your energies in the service this life motivates. Accept the positive nature of the changed life. There is no need for frequent looking back to the old… unless you truly miss what you’ve left.

In a similar way, Easter affirms the positive nature of eternal life rather than the overcoming of death. Once you know this clearly there is little reason to focus on the uncertainty and pain that preceded the resurrection. Oh, there is some value in reliving the total story, but you know how it comes out. Resist the temptation to fall back into doubt. I didn’t answer, unequivocally, the question as to whether I truly forget sins as I forgive… or do I forgive, but keep a running count? Hear My major message: I do forget and accept you in a clean, forgiven state. When you are forgiven you are fresh and new. What does that say about Lent? It says remember, but with the positive knowledge that I triumph. Do positive Lenten tasks… and complete them.

Amen
8:02 AM