The "Letting Go" of Lent

Many of us come from traditions of giving something up for Lent. This can be a good spiritual discipline and one that makes the meaning of Lent richer.  But I think we find the true meaning of this season by asking why we give something up.

The truth is that we can’t experience the fullness of Easter, resurrection, and renewal, without first experiencing a letting go of some things.  Giving up a particular food or something else you normally do, is symbolic of a greater giving up.

This is the season we share the journey to Jerusalem and the cross, with Jesus.  And we do so, that we might share in the joy of new life. This talk of sharing the journey with Jesus can seem abstract until we ask what it is that needs to die within ourselves.  We are the only ones who can answer that question for ourselves, but I am convinced that we each already know the answer.

Our faith is based on dying and rising.  It is about letting something go, so something better can enter in.  It is not easy to let some things die.  Some things we are not ready to let die.  Others will remain because we prefer the comfort and security they bring.  And yet others will stay because we haven’t looked deep within ourselves and seen them for what they are.  But in order to live the life that God intends for us, in Christ, there is always a letting go, a dying, that occurs again and again throughout our lives.   But the good news is that by doing this, we find a new life, a new birth, and a new beginning.

What does each of us need to let go of this Lent?