John Y’s Musings from the Middle: Lent

Wow!!!

I just found out Lent lasts for 40 (forty) days!!!

That’s almost 6 weeks of self-denial!!!

Man….that is a very long time.

That fact wasn’t fully disclosed to me when we joined the Presbyterian Church several years ago. I’m not accusing the church of a bait-and-switch….But “Wow!!”

40 days! Of not doing things we enjoy!

That is a material fact that should have been disclosed in large print on the front page.

I’m not going to make more out of it for now ….and just try to let it go. Maybe I should have been more inquisitive. I just assumed Lent was, like, I dunno— a weekend or week-long thing. About as long as Chanukah but easier to spell and Catholic. And involving putting ashes on your forehead and not eating your favorite food for, like,  the weekend.

This is actually some really major league commitment here….

What if we put twice as much ash on our foreheads?

Can we cut in half the amount of self-denials expected of us?

Is there a “Lent for Beginners” program for newbies that starts off slow and builds to full-fledged Lent sacrifices in, like, year 10 or 15?