The church calendar reminds us that time itself has been redeemed and sanctified. Time is not a passive, empty entity whose content we shape. It comes to us as a gift; as a moment that stands in some relation to the moment when God became man in time. We live in a time whose past, present, and future has been determined by Jesus. The church calendar as well as its practices exist to help us remember this reality in the face of the dominant definition of reality that speaks of time as if it is something we possess and control and get to make.
Into this dominant definition steps the voice of Lent. The time that Jesus spent in the wilderness recapitulating Israel's time is now recapitulated by the church. The world's definition of reality is exchanged for a definition of reality that is constituted by God and his gifts and his ways. The things thought necessary for life are forsaken for the things that really are necessary.
In light of this, I intend to give up some of the things that I think constitute my life as I now live it. I don't know exactly the shape this will take, but the reason I'm writing this now is that the internet is being chopped, save for declanjk@gmail.com and anything necessary for college. Life without the internet has become unintelligible. Lent is the time to remember that my life is only unintelligible without Jesus.
I haven't really thought this through, but I know I need to get away from this space and be elsewhere. In the word, in prayer, in communion with friends and family, in silence, in reality as defined by God and dependent on God.
Loved this post Declan! So true, very encouraging as well! All the best for your time spent away from the net, hope it all goes well and that you get to spend the time needed on God and the other things you've mentioned! Best wishes
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