Today is the last day before we enter the season of Lent. It is commonly known as 'Fat Tuesday', a day on which we eat pancakes or other sweet, fun foods, celebrate, party, dance, make music….generally have a good time as humans do. Of course, in New Orleans, Mardi Gras, a longer and bigger celebration has been going on for the past week. Revelry, wildness, fabulous food and joyful music has been filling the streets as people from around the world flock to this beleaguered city for all the festivities.
It is a somewhat odd practice, don't you think? Before we move into the 40 days of Lent, full of introspection,fasting, prayer and soul searching, we have a big blow out of a party. But who hasn't had that one final piece of chocolate cake the night before starting a diet, before making a significant change in living? Fat Tuesday can mark a way of turning the page in a season of a year, a day when 'tomorrow will be different'.
In the Christian church Lent is meant to mirror the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted. The actual definition of the word comes from the Middle English word 'lente' or 'springtime'. Lent is the time when we clear away the debris that has accumulated over the winter so we can prepare ourselves for the new birth that awaits us in spring. Lent invites us into a daily walk of shedding…..negative practices, harmful thoughts, unhealthy ways….so what is planted in us can bring forth what rests inside. In turn it invites us to look within for the gifts that give us the courage to do our work in the world, to continue to allow our story to unfold. In essence it invites us to look for resurrection.
During this Lent, more than some others, it seems we are all begging for glimpses of new life. The last year, last months, we have seen the debris of greed and despair build up both individually and communally. Perhaps more than in years past, this Lent calls us to look inward more deeply as we search for seeds of hope that lie buried in the soil of who we are. Perhaps this year as we walk these forty days, we will begin to uncover and bring to the light what is needed to heal our relationships, our institutions, our own hearts.
'Lente', spring, Lent….the walk toward rebirth. It begins tomorrow. But tonight belongs to the revelers. Enjoy!
"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.
" ~Martin Luther