Be Holy
One of my favorite things to do within youth ministry is getting together with other youth pastors and colleagues on a regular basis to talk ministry, events, our personal lives, and everything in-between. We often come from different denominations and theological backgrounds which can always make things interesting. A good friend of mine who’s catholic is preparing himself and his students for the upcoming catholic tradition of lent. The tradition dates back to the practice of denying yourself for Christ between Ash Wednesday (next Wednesday) and Easter.
The Tradition of Lent
As Protestants and non-Lutherans we/myself don’t partake in the tradition of lent. Ash Wednesday starts 40 days before Easter Sunday and represents the 40 days Christ suffered in the Wilderness. Catholics and some other denominations use this time to reflect and deny themselves of a particular luxury, like how Christ suffered for 40 days. It’s an interesting concept that can draw you closer to God, however not taught in the Bible or mandated by God to participate in.
Ash Wednesday/Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras
My favorite part of the whole Ash Wednesday celebration in the celebration of Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras. The French Catholics decided to have a holiday the day before Ash Wednesday to basically get all the partying, drinking, and debauchery celebrated and out of there system the day before denying themselves for Christ for 40 days. The practice of Mardi Gras believe it or not focuses on the seven deadly sins laid out in the Bible because apparently its ok to do all of it before becoming “super spiritual” for 40 days.
So the question I’m sure everyone is asking, as a protestant, why should I care? We as Protestants don’t focus on all the traditions that the church holds, but focus on the relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. My focus is that instead of confining our spirituality to only 40 days, broadening it to 365 days a year 24/7. God mandates us to be obedient all the time, not just a few days a year.
Live in the World But Not of It
We often times in our life have the mindset of how close can I get to the ledge of sin without falling off instead of running as far away as we can from that ledge. We believe that if we’re obedient just enough we’ll still find favor with God. We catch ourselves riding the fence with one leg in the world, and one leg with God instead of giving both legs to God. It’s such a catch twenty two because one of the hardest verses in my opinion to live and follow is to “live in the world but not of it”. It’s difficult to figure out how to live in our society as Christians without committing social suicide. We have this “Ash Wednesday” mindset that we’re going to do our own thing without any regard to God, then give him a little bit of our time each year. Is that a true sign of faithful servanthood? I hate to say it and im just as guilty of it, twenty first century American Christianity doesn’t make God a priority in our lives. We focus too much on what we want than having a servant heart to God, and being good and faithful servants.
So this week I encourage you to not have this “Ash Wednesday” mindset. We don’t need to rub a cross on our foreheads to be more “spiritual”. Don’t pretend that being super holy for 40 days and denying ourselves of daily pleasures is going to get us extra brownie points in the book of life. We need to always be spiritual. Look for God in every corner of our life (and let him in every corner of our life). When we do that, we portray our love, obedience, and service we have for our loving and caring God through his son Jesus Christ.
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