I have to admit I am personally grateful that Valentine’s Day falls before Lent.  I can enjoy my chocolate guilt free.  Now it will not be a problem for me to give up liverwurst sandwiches for Lent.  I think many others have as well – I could not find any in the store.  But I did find Spam.  Now I was raised on the stuff, but it will not be difficult for me to give it up again for Lent.  Now for those who really know me – you know how difficult it will be to give up my coca-cola.

          However, is giving up something all there is to Lent?  That is today’s question as we begin this Lenten Series of sermons and small group studies.  Questions from you last Fall: What is Lent?  Why do we observe it, and how is it supposed to make a difference in our lives?  What are some things we might do during this time?  But let’s begin with reading God’s word, Matthew 4:1-11.

            Now, I don’t know about the birds and the bees, but we all do it to one degree or another.  Perhaps, for some to quite a lesser degree than others.  For a few it is done all year long.  I speak of Spring Cleaning.  Had you going there for minute.  When I was growing up and living in Pennsylvania, spring cleaning meant literally cleaning house from top to bottom and every thing in between….including beating the rugs after hanging them on the clothes lines out back – that was my brother Tom’s job.  One of the origins of spring cleaning can be traced to the ancient practice of our Jewish ancestors of thoroughly cleaning the home in anticipation and preparation of the spring-time holiday of Passover.  All this is done in remembrance of the Jews’ hasty flight from Egypt following their captivity in that country.  During the eight-day holiday of Passover, a strict prohibition is set against eating anything which may have been leavened/having yeast.   In Exodus 12 (vs15), we are told Jews are not only supposed to not eat leavened foods, they are commanded to rid their homes of even small remnants (chametz) of the leavened food…and this all for the length of the holiday. So for the past 3500 years and more, observant Jews have conducted a thorough “spring cleaning” of the house.  

            The Christian season of Lent reflects a similar spirit.  Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning lengthening of days or Springtide or “spring”.   And so, Lent comes around when the world is emerging from the darkness of winter.  There are out signs of new life everywhere.  We open up the windows and let the fresh air in…and we clean house.   And so the Season of Lent has come to be an opportunity to experience the mercy of God in new ways, to be set free from past darkness of winter as well as past patterns of behavior and to embrace a new life.  As a time of spiritual and personal spring cleaning, Lent is better than New Year’s resolutions. 

In many denominations it is a time marked by particular rituals of repentance, reconciliation and forgiveness, of abstinence and fasting, of solitude and silence and of also service.  Visible rituals could include the receiving of ashes on Ash Wednesday in the sign of the cross on the forehead.  Other visible rituals could be the result of a decision to give up French fries or chocolate or smoking or Spam sandwiches or coca-cola.    More so, Lent is a time to clean out the cob webs of our spiritual life.  It is a time to get back on track with Jesus.  It is a time of spiritual renewal and spiritual growth.  It is a time to deepen our relationship with the community, with each other, and with God. 

            I was not raised in a church that taught or celebrated Lent.  We just went straight to the feast of Easter, sort of like Scruffy from the Children’s sermon.  But just let me tell you the season of Lent stretches across six weeks from Ash Wednesday, and goes through  to the Saturday before Easter, which is 46 days in all.    

            But the pattern for Lent was set by Jesus.   His forty days of fasting and solitude in the Judean desert, was a time when He laid aside all other distractions and gave Himself freely, fully and attentively to His Father.   This was an essential period of preparation for Jesus’ public ministry, which was soon to follow. 

I think often we assume that the devil, coming to Jesus at the end of His forty day fast, finds Him weak and vulnerable.  That sneaky fiend!  He creeps up on Jesus at His lowest moment.  Satan is always trying to kick a person while down.  The truth, though, is quite the opposite.  We are told Jesus is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit, with the voice of His Father still ringing in His ears – from His own baptism (which we read about in the previous 5 verses).  And His Father’s voice said:  “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased (Luke 3:22).” 

You see, Jews saw the desert as the territory of the demons and evil spirits.  They viewed the desert as a godless and lifeless place – and I personally could not agree more (desert lovers please don’t flood by email – I am aware of beauty in the desert as well).   At that time, the desert was seen as a place far from civilization in which the evil forces of chaos could just fester.  Jesus heads into the wilderness to confront evil in its own stronghold.  And so Jesus prepares Himself.  He dwells in silence.  He dwells in prayer.  He fasts.  He dwells in the presence of His Father.  He builds up resistance to the demands of the very appetites which Satan will use to tempt Him later.  And after 40 days, He is tired!  He is hungry – certainly.  But Jesus is also strong…strong of spirit and will.  Jesus is ready to confront evil on its home turf.  It is a mistake to believe Satan  sneakily attacks Jesus at His weakest.  It is Jesus who is active.  It is Jesus who crosses the border.  It is Jesus who confronts.  It is Jesus who is the force to be reckoned with.  We need to remember that when the enemy’s gate is being battered down, it is not you who is under attack.

            I believe largely because of Jesus’ own journey into the desert, Lent is often portrayed as a journey.  As I said, we see that Jesus journeyed into the desert with the Holy Spirit, following His own baptism.  So also in its early development, Lent became associated with the sacrament of baptism.  And later it became a journey for those who were preparing to be baptized and then to join the church.  Here at MPC we have, on a few occasions, welcomed new members and administered the sacrament of Baptism on either Palm Sunday or Easter Sunday.  Very cool event.

But Lenten preparation is not limited to those who are preparing to be baptized and join the church.  Lent is a journey of attitude and heart.  It is a journey of spirit.  It is a journey of action.  This is the sort of journey each of us would do well traveling.  Its solemn character holds for us a rich power of confession, repentance, drawing closer to God as we convert our hearts to Him again and purify our souls.  There is also, often a deep desire for a renewed intention to transcend and change our habits of living both physically and spiritually.  What we hope for all year, not just during Lent, is more faith in Jesus and obedience to His word so that our lives can be transformed.

            We are called to love the world, as the Father loved the world by choosing His Son to transform our natures for Himself.  We are to help redeem the world, with humility and responsibility, with the energies of the Holy Spirit, Who assists us to make all things in our world gradually new.   For some, this special time will be a turning from sin to grace, for the first time.  For others, it will be a gracious turning toward the mystery of God in Christ, as we convert our hearts to Him again.   For others, it will be a deepening of faith. 

And so what are some things that you and I can do during this season of Lent?

            A popular understanding of Lent is that it is a period of doing penance…a time during which we attempt to become more sensitive to the role of sin in our lives.    Lenten sermons often speak of personal sin, coming to an awareness of the sins of others and the effect such sin might have, and, finally, the sin that can be found within the larger society and culture.   Awareness of sin, however, must be balanced by an emphasis on the love and acceptance that God still has for each of us, despite the sinful condition in which we still find ourselves. 

            The Gospel of Mark (1:14-15) says: “Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news’.”  This call announces a solemn depth to the season of Lent.   This is probably the origin of the visible marks with ashes came into being, as the words were either said or prayed:   “Repent, and believe in the good news.”   This blessing is understood as a personal acceptance of the desire to take on the life of penance for the sake of living out the gospel.

            As we meditate on the life of Jesus, His suffering, and His death, this is also part of the penitential experience of Lent.   Meditating on certain psalms can be a blessing to us.  I have listed seven Penitential Psalms (6,31,37,50,101,129,142) on the sermon outline in your bulletin, and on the Small Group Study guides.  Each is a perfect expression of contrition and prayer for mercy.  This experience of penance would certainly include giving and receiving forgiveness and  acts of  reconciliation, with one another and with God.      

            Lent also asks that we practice the disciplines of abstinence or self denial.   This practice, no doubt, reflects Jesus’ own days of fasting in His desert journey.  FASTING is probably the central discipline of self-denial.  Some of us have become so fond of pointing out that fasting can mean withdrawing from any significant aspect of life (fasting from television , email, cell phones, or certain restaurants, for example) – and there is nothing wrong with abstaining from these – as long as abstaining helps us turn around and back to God.   It is worth remembering the basic meaning of fasting:  withdrawing from food.   Biblically, fasting is abstaining from food, drink, sleep or sex to focus on a period of spiritual growth.  Specifically, we humbly deny something of the flesh to glorify God, enhance our spirit, and go deeper in our prayer life and focus deeper on God.  Remember, fasting isn't some kind of a "work" that's commanded by Christ or required by Scripture.   However, that doesn't mean that fasting isn't recommended as a part of our spiritual growth. The Book of Acts records believers fasting before they made important decisions (Acts 13:4; 14:23). In the gospel of Luke, fasting and prayer are often linked together (Luke 2:37; 5:33).  The purpose of fasting is to take our eyes off the things of this world and instead focus our heart on God. Fasting is a way to demonstrate to God and to ourselves that we are serious about our relationship with Him.

Solitude and Silence can go hand in hand.  Both are necessary for a full and healthy spiritual life.  I confess I do not do these enough or well.   Periods of withdrawal from the company of others draws our hearts and souls back into the vibrant presence of our living God.  Many people plan to take a retreat during spring, often during the time of Lent itself, to help them refocus for the coming year.  Whether a planned event of a weekend or a planned event of an hour a day or an hour a week, the point is to draw apart from the normal, every day life we live.  This time of focused solitude can be an experience of drawing us closer to God.  Scripture tells us Jesus often withdrew from people in solitude and prayer.  As Jesus used His solitude for gaining strength and power and closeness to His Father, so would we benefit.

Silence (the other of that duo discipline) helps us to step back from the constant flood of words and noise generated by our culture, our environment, and by ourselves.  Silence allows space for us to be attentive to the still, small voice of God....or perhaps the great bellowing voice of God that we just do not hear.  Silence is hard for those of us taught that stillness equates to inactivity, which some define as little more than unproductive laziness.  However, consider whether an hour spent without agenda in God’s presence is time wasted or time invested. 

Service is another experience that can be utilized to help us focus deeper on God.  Jesus used His experience in the desert to strengthen Him and prepare Him for His life ministry.  This Lenten discipline can be a personal and community effort to reinvigorate our efforts to live beyond our often shallow and too-constricted lives.  Listen to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, from One Heart full of Love - “We should gather to give thanks to God for what He has done in us, with us, through us.   We thank him for having used you and us to be his love and mercy.  God is still love, and He still loves the world.  We believe that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.  And God so loves the world today that He gives you and me to love the world, so that we may be His love and His mercy.”  What a beautiful thought and conviction for us, that we can be God’s love and mercy right in our homes, above all.  Then we can be God’s love and mercy for our next-door neighbors and for our neighbors down the street, in the center of town, in the fields surrounding Moorpark, in the sports fields, schools, stores.

            Remember I mentioned family first and foremost.  So included in this area of service would be thoughts like:  Have I failed to perform my duties to my parents, spouse, children, siblings – and this includes praying for them.  Or Do I need to stop engaging in gossip?  Do I need to change some bad business practice? 

            As Jesus’ co-workers, one thing we have to learn is to sow joy.  We don’t need bombs or weapons to bring peace to the world.  We need that love and compassion that we ask for every day – and then to share it.  The world is hungry for God.   What a great way for us  to serve God in His world.   And for your Lenten service enjoyment, we have provided you with a hand-on project – the Community Cross Project beginning today – right outside.  And there are brochures in the Narthex explaining it.  In short, this is an art project not just for us here at MPC, but for us at MPC to take Jesus out into the community.  This is an opportunity to serve God in His world…by sharing Jesus, praying for the people to be touched by the project and by Christ; and that people will come to know the Hope of Jesus.

            So we mourn and do penance for our sins.  We again convert our hearts to the Lord, who suffered, died, and rose for our salvation.  We renew the promises made at our own baptism, when we died to an old life and rose to a new life with Christ.

We need to remember that Jesus pulled away from the world and was comfortable in solitude and silence.  He gained strength as He denied Himself certain things and at the same time filled Himself with His Father and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus became stronger and drew closer to His heavenly Father.  He pulled away from the crowds in order to serve and minister to that very people. 

            So it is with practices and experiences of Lent that can develop our insight and our faith and show us the inadequacy of what we had

previously accepted as valid in our religious and spiritual lives – that now we see as needing transformation by God.   And through it all we gain strength.   This is the time for spiritual spring cleaning that gives us the courage to face the risk to change habits.  This is when we gain strength to break with our previous level of spiritual experience.  This is the spring cleaning of our spirit that draws us closer and deeper in a relationship to Jesus.