This Time of Lent is a Classic

“Repent and believe in the gospel.”

The word “classic” refers most often to sort-of timeless literature

that has lasted the generations.

Sometimes, it refers to music.

So you have classic literature

like Romeo and Juliet from Shakespeare

and many other of Shakespeare’s writings

for example the Merchant of Venice.

Or you have music that is considered a classic

and there is even a genre called “classical music”

such as Beethoven, Bach; all those are classical music.

There are other classics like I Did It My Way

from the great Frank Sinatra.

There are many more that we could think of.

The term “classic” goes beyond literature and music

and is a combination of almost anything that is entertainment.

Movies can be classics too.

Each generation tends to have its own classics.

Think of the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life,

which has been a classic for many people at Christmas;

or The Sound of Music, which crosses multiple genre

both music and a play as well as literature.

We even have it when it comes to cars.

We have classic cars too!

In general, the term classic is a collective understanding of something

that transcends the generation that it is in.

In a sense, it gives a timelessness to it.

There is a certain amount of sacredness to a classic

whether it be music; whether it be literature;

or whether it be entertainment;

or even an item that there is something collectively

we have said that this is, in a sense, timeless.

And it has something that teaches us about

who we are as human beings and

it has a timelessness that passes on.

Every year, we enter into a classic time

called Lent; it is a timeless repetition.

Every year, we submit to the wisdom

of the period of 40 days of renewal.

And there are certain hallmarks to this classic time;

we hear that in today’s reading.

There is a very, very short reading from the Gospel of Mark,

which is the shortest of all the gospels;

the first of the gospels, the shortest.

He says very simply that Jesus goes into the desert for 40 days.

There are no temptations like the other gospels;

this is just sort of a matter of fact

that he was in the desert and

he was ministered to by the angels

while he was among the wild beasts.

Then he immediately goes into his public ministry

and his first words are “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

Now repent, the Greek word there is metanoia.

Metanoia is probably better translated as

“change your minds and hearts.”

So Jesus says, “Change your minds and hearts

and believe in the good news of Jesus Christ.”

With that, we have a classic way in how we handle this Lenten period.

And you heard me talk about it on Ash Wednesday

that every Church in the entire Christendom

celebrates the three pillars of Lent:

Prayer. Fasting and Alms Giving.

This is the classic way in which we enter into this period of renewal.

A period of joy.

I know that part has been lost

because when we renew ourselves;

when we refresh ourselves then we ought to be more joyful.

This period of rejuvenation;

this period of repentance;

this period of changing our hearts and minds is a call to joy;

to return to the joy of the gospel;

the good news of the gospel

is what this period is meant to help us do.

Everything needs to serve that purpose.

We have to be careful not to make it

brutally penitential, suffering somehow.

No, it is meant to lighten our load

and to insist upon the good news of the gospel

that brings joy to our hearts.

On Wednesday, I suggested that in each of these,

we try just one of each of those;

that we find a way to deepen our prayer life

by saying a prayer of gratitude at the end of each day.

I mentioned how important it was that

we fast but that maybe we fast from one bad habit;

one bad habit that we know we ought to give up

whether it be talking about others;

or always having the last word; or the last text;

or always having a complaining word;

that we give up one thing that we know

that the Lord will want us to renew and refresh in our life.

And then one thing that we could do for others

and I suggested that we write

a text or make a phone call or letter to somebody

who we have not spoken to over a period of time.

So the question is if those three things are timeless,

the three pillars are timeless,

then how are we to kind of freshen ourselves up each week?

We are called to dial these in a little bit differently each week.

And everybody can do it slightly differently.

The thing that seems to come to mind for me today

and I encourage you to maybe look at this,

is that the period of Lent and its timelessness

is also a call to slow down,

a call to pause a little bit.

That is why we have the fasting.

That is why we have the prayer.

It calls us just to well to give ourselves a little bit more space.

In that space, we can pray and reflect;

in that space, we can fast;

in that space, we can do things for others.

Let me give you an example: 

I am not sure everyone uses Outlook

or these digital calendars as I do

but on the computer, we have these calendars

and once you make an appointment

it blocks out that appointment.

Unfortunately, it blocks out a full hour.

Then the next hour.

And the next hour.

And when I look at my calendar for a day,

mine is in blue,

and my schedule is completely blue from beginning to the end of the day.

I don’t think that is healthy.

I don’t think that is healthy for us

that we go from one task to the next with no break in between.

For my Lenten journey I am introducing

is a little bit of white space in my calendar.

So I am making 45 minute appointments not an hour appointments.

And I am taking that little white space for me

and for God just to slow down;

just to say a prayer;

to take note of what the last meeting was

and to take note of what the next meeting will be.

Sometimes then in the middle of that white space,

I then have time to also leave some white space

for the other people too!

To leave some space for them to make mistakes,

for them to be human and to say things

that maybe they don’t always mean.

I need to leave room for them,

a little bit of white space around them,

so they have room to be human.

And why? Because I know that I need room to be human.

I need a little bit of room around me to make mistakes.

And if I need that for me then I need it for you.

In this Lent as we enter into this classical time,

and it is a wonderful joy-filled time,

if we can enter into the true spirit of metanoia,

this repentance of changing our mind and our heart;

can we leave a little bit of white space for ourselves and for God;

for others and for God.

So that together the season truly will be a season of joy.

Repent and believe in the gospel.

Metanoia:

change our minds and our hearts

and believe in the gospel.