On Lent.

By David Poultney. in All Sorts

how a period of self-examination during Lent could lead to a commitment to habitually practice kind and compassionate active expressions of love, that would activate the experience of a collective salvation here and now.

Lent is a season for Christians who choose to observe it in some manner leading up to Easter. Its origin also provides an excellent model for everyone. For me, Lent is about periodic self-examination, reflection, and a deep look at life with intention and commitment to live forward with greater meaning.
Jesus’s experience struggling in the wilderness after his baptism is at the root of Lent, which is a forty-day period. Chapters 3 and 4 of the Gospel of Luke provide information that can help anyone interested in taking a hard look at their life, recent experiences, gifts, and opportunities to progress into greater fulfilment.
Taking a practical look at Luke 3, I think Jesus “took” several things with him into his time of solitude. As a starting point, we learn in Luke 2 that by age twelve, Jesus was immersed in his Jewish tradition. He listened to Rabbis/teachers of his time for wisdom, showed great understanding, and was highly inquisitive (Lk. 2:42-47). That is a fine model for anyone at any age.
Practically, Luke 3 indicates that Jesus listened to John the Baptist, who reminded Jesus of the prominence of Isaiah in Judaism. John urgently taught the crowd to repent. This means he implored people to significantly change the way they live daily. When the listeners asked what that meant, with clarity, John essentially said: If you have an excess of food or clothing, then share it with anyone in need (Lk. 3:2-3 and 8-11). This is a direct route to meaningful living: Be actively kind to others, especially the poor, in practical ways. This is pure religion. It is more important than any alleged “correct” doctrine, which is overrated and often used to oppress instead of helping others.

Jesus was part of the crowd around John and was baptized by John. In Luke’s account, in prayer and subsequent to his baptism, Jesus “sensed” a calling or anointing of some kind. Then he went into the wilderness (probably more a desert in that geographic area) for forty days (biblically, that means a long time) (Lk. 3:21-22 and 4:1-2).
In the wilderness, the so-called devil tempted Jesus. For me, this is “anthropomorphic” for “be-devilment” or inner struggle to make sense of all that preceded Jesus’s self-analytical scrutiny to make sense of and choose his calling. In short, Jesus said “NO” to (1) using his gifts for political or military power, (2) indulging in whatever he craved, and (3) putting on a miraculous show in the open to amaze others (Lk. 4:1-12). I think this represents both an inner struggle and fighting the expectations of others.
When Jesus emerged from the wilderness, he was precise about his mission. He went to the synagogue and focused on the portion of the book of Isaiah from the time of the Jewish exile to Babylon (post-destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple) and the return of the faithful remnant of Jews to Israel (Isa. 40-66, probably from the sixth century BCE).
Jesus said God “anointed [him] to bring good news to the poor...proclaim release to the captives [and] let the oppressed go free” (Lk. 4:16-19, Isa. 61:1-2 and 58:6). I think Jesus identified with and chose to continue and embody the mission of God’s “servant,” Israel, coming out of exile to be “a light to the nations” (i.e., everyone) so that God’s “salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isa. 49:3 and 6). That is what Jesus did as a first-century Rabbi, by modelling servanthood and teaching his followers (then and now) to be kind, loving, and compassionate to all, especially the poor, the imprisoned (to anything), and the oppressed (by anything or anyone). Importantly, this links Christians and Jews together, along with anyone of any faith (or lack thereof) who actively practices loving-kindness.
What might we discover in our intentionally reflective solitude during Lent or any other season of life for self-examination and resolve toward a more meaningful life? What might we “take with us” for our time of inner struggle and sorting out what others expect of us versus how we should choose to live? If we all emerged with a commitment to habitually practice kind and compassionate active expressions of love toward others, especially people in need, we would indeed activate and experience a collective salvation here and now.
David Poultney