A Brief Guide to Lent (and Valentines Day)
Roundup 011
This past Sunday after “the big game” a few of us couples sat in a circle and discussed our upcoming Valentine’s Day plans.
“Wait, isn’t Ash Wednesday on Valentine's Day this year?”
“It sure is”, I replied.
Internally, 14-year-old, emo David rejoiced.
Providentially, a day that reminds us of our future death happens to fall on a day when are supposed to celebrate love.
(Also, according to ChatGPT, the last time this occurred was in 1945)
At first glance, the dichotomy between these two holidays, both of which find their roots in the church, couldn’t be any larger.
Lent, which finds its origin in the second century has traditionally been a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving leading up toward Easter. Christians “gave up” these creature comforts to more intentionally focus their hearts and minds on the one who gave Himself up for the flock.
The origins of Valentine's Day are a bit muddier, but Justin Holcomb does an excellent job explaining it here. Reflecting on its origins, Holcomb asks the question, “How can Christians celebrate Valentine’s Day in a way that honors what is good, true, and beautiful?”
Couples can remember that, as you celebrate your love for each other, you also celebrate an original, deeper love: God’s love, which is the fabric of creation. Being formed by the loving delight of another is an experience that makes the most sense when we see that we are the recipients of the loving delight of God. And God’s love for us has no boundaries.
Reflecting further on what she calls “Ash Valentine’s Day”, Sarah Condon over at Mockingbird helpfully says this…
This year Valentine’s Day happens to fall on Ash Wednesday, a day when we are reminded of the brevity of life. But it is not a call to live life to the fullest. It is a reminder that God gave us one another to love for this short time we have been given.
Ash Wednesday is also our reminder that death does not have the final word. God does. So not only is our existence not nearly as permanently important as we think it is, but death, yes death, gets taken down a notch.
And if we take that promise seriously enough, we can find freedom there.
Read the full article here.
Tonight, Megan and I are cooking a steak, drinking some wine, and remembering loved ones we have lost, as we meditate on our own lives, their brevity, and what we ought to do with the time we are given.
From dust we came, and to dust we shall return.
And now, a brief roundup…
Reading
Books
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Pascha to Pentecost by Jonathan Gibson - This will be my daily driver for the next 48 days. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the previous two volumes as well. Highly recommend.
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley - Again, from a series that I have enjoyed greatly. Will be reading this in the morning as well.
The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge - I’ve had this on my to-read list for the past 2-3 years. Hoping to crack this open this season.
Full Time: Work and The Meaning of Life by David Bahnsen - Check out this podcast with Bahnsen and Doug Wilson on work. (Listen here).
Blogs
Lent Related
40+ Reasons To Observe Lent by Peter J. Leithart - “To observe Lent rightly, we have to be persuaded that we already stand in God’s favor.”
The Best Lenten Sacrifices Are the Realistic Ones by Dixie Dillon Lane - “So give up sweets, by all means, but also make sure you get enough sleep and enough to eat and drink, and maybe give yourself some leeway on chocolate this year if you are pregnant. Focus instead on giving a genuine smile to everyone you meet and on praying for those who are unkind to you. And if you need a cup of coffee to facilitate that, go right ahead.”
Keep the Fast, Keep the Feast by Peter J. Leithart - “Fasting looks like an enemy to life, but the opposite is true. We live abundantly only if we know how to fast which is to say, only if we are disciplined to wait until the feast is ready. Lent trains us to be a people of patience and restraint, a people who rejoices in a God who has time and gives us time and makes us wait for the treasures He gives. Lent trains us to follow the Master who kept the fast. We must learn the lessons of Lent and the fast if we are going to be the people of the new Adam and not just another variation on the old.”
When Valentine’s Day Meets Ash Wednesday by Esau McCaulley at The Atlantic - “Death reminds us of the limits of romantic love, but it also sets romantic love free. It allows love to take its place alongside other goods, some that last and others that are fleeting. Death brings a certain clarity. We can exercise and diet, use modern science to fix our bodies, but they will wear out. They will return to dust. Therefore, the joys we are given should be cherished, and the time we have not wasted.”
Popular Events
This topic has been all over my feed for the past two weeks. I should state here that my sharing these posts doesn’t mean I agree, simply that I found them to be well-thought-out perspectives on the matter. I pray that we can all wrestle with these topics more lovingly.
Alistair Begg Meets the Politically Correct by Russel Moore
The Case Against Christians Attending a Gay Wedding by Kevin DeYoung
Work Matters to God Because We Matter by David Bahnsen
Listening
Watching
I’m usually skeptical of ‘Christian Movies’ but this Bonhoeffer film looks pretty good.
Until next week!