Lent is seen by many to be a time of remorse and guilt. A time to burden ourselves with past sins. Actually this is far from what Lent is meant to be. Lent is meant to be a time to focus where our priorities lie and what the values we hold dear mean. A time to ask, "Why do I call myself a Christian and what does being a Christian mean?" "Is the message of Christianity of importance today and is it important in today's culture?" Summed up in a single question, "What does Christianity mean to me?"
It is very important to take time to question our belief and to ask why we believe what we do. Not doing so leads to confusion and simply compromising our beliefs to "fit" with current trends and to avoid "upsetting" others. It is important to look upon the gospels of Christ for guidance. That is why the Sermon on the Mount is our Lenten readings. We see in Christ's own words what it means to be a Christian and the importance of our faith and its relevance in today's culture.
More to the point consider these, we mourn, and we should, every September 11 for the 3000 people who were murdered by terrorists. People who were innocents going about their daily lives. Yet, we have no day to mourn the 200,000 innocent babies murdered yearly by abortion. We fluctuate our markets with news of unemployment yet we do nothing for those unemployed and decry any assistance offered on the basis it is wasting tax money. Many of us have gone in debt supporting lifestyles we could not afford yet do nothing for the homeless and impoverished among us. This what we should be focusing on during Lent. The suffering Christ among us in the faces of those who suffer today. Finding solutions in our faith to help and make differences.
Christ ministered to real people and we should have our focus on real people as well. To see the value our faith can have to end poverty, abuse, and disrespect of all God's children. We must see we are the solution. We are the hands and love of Jesus Christ to a hurting world. That is what Lent is meant for.
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