This is the original essay that fed into the Building Faith piece.
Lent is important, but sometimes I don't think I fully am
grasping the meaning of it.” For all the
energy that church professionals devote to inviting the people we serve to a
Holy Lent, the truth may be that many do not fully grasp the invitation. “Or,
maybe, like us, they simply cannot fathom that Jesus would desire them so
deeply that death and betrayal cannot keep him away.” [i]
The contemporary family life is intense with pressures: social, academic and
financial. Young people who squeeze in
homework while on the road between the multitude of commitments which is
evidence of pressures real and concocted.
So when asked about the meaning and practices of Lent in the lives of
youth and their families, a thin response is less than surprising. We know from recent sociological research that the
religious practice of young people is not only a reflection of the faith of
their parents, but it is an expression of it.
Lent is important, but not as important as perhaps it could be.
My
small survey of Episcopal teens from across the United States shows a mix
of household practices. I suspect that
the majority who answered ‘Lent isn't really a special or different time in my
house,’ would be the majority response no matter how large the survey. In my decade plus of congregational formation ministry I haven’t heard many tales or seen significant evidence of common household Lenten practices. Family members may observe
Lent through giving something up, but that is their project. It is individual,
personal but not a family practice.
Even more so, Lent may be met through attending worship more frequently,
but band and sports and spring break plans have precedence. The crisis of our brokenness, the darkness of
this hour into which Jesus seeks to bring new light remains in force even as we
seek to examine the darkness in the practices of a Holy Lent.
Religious practice is a choice for us, and so it is for our older
children. Recent sociological work on
the religiousness of youth and families reveals that even in regularly faithful
household’s family prayer is rare. In
households with varied religious adherence the quandary of a family practice
becomes even trickier. One more zone to
negotiate, what should be a balm feeling like an added anxiety. Yet we know from the same studies of youth
and religion that long term faithfulness is rooted in household practices. The moral ‘inoculation’ effect is most potent
when religious practice is regular and steeped through the whole of a family’s
life together.
I asked in my mini-survey for new images and icons for
Lent. Mirror, chalkboard, and candle
were suggested. However my favorite was
soup. My youth formation group offered
the icon of soup. ‘It is just so
Lenten.’ Soup reminds me of ‘the Tale of Despereaux’
by Kate DiCamillo. The kingdom is in crisis, the king is despondent and an
unusual small mouse who was scapegoated and survived is trying to save the
day. Lent is an extension of Holy Week,
it should be an extended meditation on our part in the contexts of crisis that
surround us everyday. The ridiculous
knee-jerk reactions that stress out our children, parents and teachers. The refusal to love unconditionally and
turning a blind eye to the violence of the powers that be.
‘The Tale of Despereaux’ is perhaps a Lenten
meditation, a context of crisis where soup and bowls and spoons have been
banned in a moment of knee jerk gloom. Can you imagine the sadness of no bowls or
spoons or soup? It is hard to describe the mysterious
satisfaction of soup. In the depths of crisis the royal cook takes a stand. She
knows what type of balm will heal the sad and sick souls of the kingdom. She dares to make soup. Not a fancy soup with extraordinary equipment
but the simplicity of hearty, fragrant blessed soup.
- What would the image of soup offer to helping congregations nurture families and youth to enter a Holy Lent together?
- In a kingdom of anxiety what balm could household faithfulness bring?
- How can we take a redeeming stand in the middle of the pressures and demands of contemporary family life?
- What are the hearty, simple and blessed soups of Christ that formation leaders can offer?
No comments:
Post a Comment