Lent, a Point of Resistance

Last updated on: February 9, 2017 at 10:51 am by John O'Keefe

Lent, a Point of Resistance 2017-02-09T10:51:14-05:00 John O'Keefe

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In our culture, Lent is seen as a way of give-up bad eating habits, but in reality, it’s so much more. Lent is a point of resistance, a pivot point where we see the lives of others as having value over ours; it is going against the flow. It’s a way to develop purpose; for preparing the Followers of Christ through prayer, paying back the community, repentance of wrongs, giving, reconciling with the Divine, and self-denial. While many Comminutes of Faith turn Lent into a program, it should be a guiding light to our faith; culminating with our hearts focused on Easter. If we’re truly living in love, perfect love, we should strive to live in the grace, love, resistance, and forgiveness. If we seek only self, and giving up eating chocolate, we miss the point of Perfect Love, and we miss the point of Lent.

Here is a list of things I think we should give-up for lent

Racism
The Wall
Xenophobia
Sexism
Homophobia
Rejecting Other
Marginalization of others
Control
Unreasonable Expectations [On self, and others]
Superiority
Gender Exclusion
Hating your Enemies
Seeking Popularity
Ignoring the Poor
Closed Doors
Insulting those who don’t think like you
Ignoring the Poor
Violence [in all forms]
Being a Christian Jerk
The Idea of a national registry of any kind
[I’m sure you can think of more, just add them in the comments below]

Lent is, or should be, a time when we reflect on how we develop Perfect Love. It should be a time where we resist the culture, and we resist those who seek to move us away from Perfect Love. In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes:

Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire![Romans 2:7-8 MSG]

It’s easy to live a life in “least resistance” – to simply go with the flow, to simply allow other voices to control your faith journey, but we’re not to take that path. Our path should be a path of resistance, a path that says, ‘We care about others, and we stand with those who are marginalized.’ Paul is telling us to ‘go against the flow,’ to be a people who live in Perfect Love

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