Do not bother looking for Lent in your Bible dictionary. There was no such thing in biblical times.
There is some evidence that early Christians fasted 40 hours between Good Friday and Easter, but the custom of spending 40 days in prayer and self-denial did not arise until the 7th century, when the initial rush of Christian adrenaline was over and believers had gotten very ho-hum about their faith.
When the world did not end as Jesus himself had said it would, his followers stopped expecting so much from God or from themselves. They hung a wooden cross on the wall and settled back into their more or less comfortable routines, remembering their once passionate devotion to God the way they remembered the other enthusiasms of their youth.
Little by little, Christians became devoted to their comforts instead: the soft couch, the flannel sheets, the leg of lamb roasted with rosemary. These things made them feel safe and cared for — if not by God, then by themselves.
They decided there was no contradiction between being comfortable and being Christian, and before long it was very hard to pick them out from the population at large.
They no longer distinguished themselves by their bold love for one another. They did not get arrested for championing the poor. They blended in. They avoided extremes.
THEY DECIDED TO BE NICE INSTEAD OF HOLY, AND GOD MOANED OUT LOUD!
By Barbara Brown Taylor
Christians no longer distinguished themselves by their bold love for one another. They did not get arrested for championing the poor. They blended in. They avoided extremes. In our world today, can YOU distinguish someone who is a Christian from someone who is not or does everyone just blend in?
THE ONLY WAY GOD CAN SHOW US THAT GOD’S IN CONTROL IS TO PUT US IN SITUATIONS WE CAN’T COINTROL!
Please offer some prayers for Pope Francis today.
You will find 365 wonderful poems in my book, A POEM A DAY TO PRAY 2025. https://treatsforthesoul.org/a-poem-a-day-to-pray/
