Every year I get asked what I'm giving up for Lent. Well, for one thing, I'm not Catholic. I don't have to give up anything. (No meatless Fridays for me.) Yes, my church does observe Lent, but more as a call to repentance and a time to prepare spiritually for Holy Week. Typically it involves me giving up shaving, not as any kind of observance or ritual, but as a way to have a nice shaggy beard when I play a disciple in our annual play.
A few years ago I decided to play along and tried going off caffeine. Holy crap, what an ordeal! Three weeks of migraine headaches before I finally gave up and stopped torturing myself. I told myself that I would never again subject myself to such a pointless exercise. Who am I doing this for anyways?
Matthew 6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
I still get asked though, and I usually have a standard joking response - "Celibacy." But this year is different. You see, I've spent the last year and a half pissed off about an ongoing situation beyond my control. I've finally decided to just let it go and not worry about it anymore. I still don't think it's right, but it's no longer my problem. I removed myself from the situation; now it's time to remove the anger and bitterness from my life - put it in a box, wrap it up in shiny paper and a bow, and leave it at the altar.
Here, Jesus. You take it. I don't want it anymore.
