In the Gospels, Jesus’ problem with the Pharisees was not their desire to follow the law of Moses, but that the way they were keeping the Law meant that they missed what the law was pointing towards. For example, the things the law was calling them to like respect for the sacred, justice, mercy, faith and purity of heart, were being set aside for the sake of keeping appearances. They had the orthodoxy, but not the orthopraxy. So, Jesus called them hypocrites.
In my opinion, Lent is an especially good time for finding the right balance between outward practice and inner devotion and humility. During Lent we tend to take on a practice or give something up. For me, Lent almost always amounts to some rule I am committing to keep. But it should be more than this.
Maybe Advent is a good guide for Lent. We all know in our bones that Advent is different. Advent is about waiting, it is about self-reflection, it is about silence and listening to God. Advent—kept in the traditional way—forces me to take a long look inside myself and ask some basic questions, “Am I ready to meet God? Am I ready to welcome this child into the world, into my personal world?"
Lent really should inspire us to ask these same questions.
Lent should be just as introspective.
Lent should teach us patience, if it teaches us anything.
Advent preaches that God is coming. God is coming in the form of Jesus, returning to set the world right. This is why we focus on his birth among us. He has come once, and he will return. We must be ready to meet him on his arrival, whether in the form of a person in need or with his coming in the clouds at the sound of the trumpet. Lent is also about this message; but more about the question, “how will you get ready?”
Now that I have laid down some good-old-fashioned-former-evangelical-guilt, are you ready for the good news? The good news is that you are ready to meet him. That was the point of his coming, the first time. Jesus did not go through all of that trouble because he was looking for a reason to condemn. The truth is just the opposite. He came to make us ready, to make creation ready. He wants us to be humble, to know that we need God and that we need each other.
Now, he simply just wants us to wake up.
—The Rev. Tom Dahlman
Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Shawnee