Lenten Blessings: Drawing Together
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: To loose the chains of injustice, and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” Isaiah 58:6-7
“‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God.” Joel 2:12-13
— Excerpts from the 2024 Ash Wednesday Lectionary
Dear LAMA Community,
I must confess, out of all the liturgical seasons, Lent has always been my favorite. This day and age, there are not many occasions in which we are truly encouraged to slow down and contemplate our lives and their place in our world, and I find it centering to have a whole season dedicated to reinvigorating my relationship with God.
Lent is unique among the liturgical seasons; while many of the seasons we celebrate, like Pentecost, Epiphany, and Christmas are mentioned in the Bible, the text itself doesn’t include a specific celebration or length of time to observe these holy events. Lent, however, is very present in the Bible. Just as Christ spent 40 days in the desert praying and fasting, we too, spend 40 days taking a step back, drawing our lives closer to God through emulating Christ.
Lent is one of the oldest traditions within Christianity— long before the rest of the liturgical calendar became what it is today, Christians set aside the 40 days before Easter in order to reflect and focus on the coming gift. Celebrating Lent reminds me that my walk with Christ is not something limited to my singular lifetime, but a part of a very long lineage of working for Love and Justice into our world.
Lent can have many different expressions across Christendom: Catholics are known for giving up meat on Fridays, many Protestants give up a luxury and spend the money they save on good causes, and these days, I’m hearing more and more Lutherans talk about the importance of adding a specific practice. Historically, Lent has often been about repentance for the same reason: as Easter comes and we celebrate the event that fulfills our faith, Lent is about drawing ourselves as near to God as we ought always to be, examining and course-correcting the times in the last year that we have strayed from what God wants from God’s followers.
This Lent, I think it is important for us to consider what we are meant to repent from. The Bible has many instructions, some of them scrupulous, and some contradictory. It is important for us to remember that God’s biggest rule is to love and care for one another. Jesus reminds us that the law was made so that we are best able to protect the vulnerable and live together with justice, not as a set of requirements we must follow perfectly. To use the law to hurt others, or to follow its letter without defending the vulnerable and working for the downtrodden is still a sin (Mark 2). This idea is unavoidable in the Bible, and we see it expressed all the way back in the Old Testament, including in the Ash Wednesday readings in Isaiah and Joel.
When we are called to repent, it has less to do with making up for broken rules, and more to do with addressing the ways in which we have hurt each other. How does our over-consumption, greed, and selfishness impact the people around us?
Once my pastor asked me, “How does God save us?” Though I am no theologian, I think the answer must be, in part, through each other. The poor, hungry, and persecuted who Jesus blesses in the Beatitudes are fed, clothed, and uplifted through the work of our hands. When we pray for the unhoused to find shelter, it is us who have the power to make that happen. God’s grace and love find us in our lives when other people offer us forgiveness, or help, or accompaniment. In my experience, the best way to introduce a person to the gospel’s Good News is by offering the Love of Christ through our own actions.
In order for us to grow close to God, I think we must also draw close to each other. This Lent, in addition to whatever practices fulfill and center you, I invite you to contemplate our shared lives, and those who Christ calls us to care for: the abandoned, the lonely, and the outsider.
Advocacy and education are incredibly important ways we can walk with the neighbors who need us. Public policy has the ability to drastically shape the quality of life for those of us living on the margins of society, and without faithful, steadfast advocacy and civic engagement, necessary changes are unlikely to happen. Advocacy is often a long game, full of waiting, persistence, and compromise, and as I am hearing from many advocates at this point in Arizona’s legislative session, it can be discouraging. However, for those of us who base our advocacy in faith, advocacy, like Lent, is just as much about drawing near to those in need and to God’s commandment to love each other, as it is about making changes.
This Lent, I am inviting you to add advocacy to your spiritual practices. Here are some ways you can get involved:
Join our 40-40-40 Lenten Challenge! — LAMA’s Lenten Challenge includes a daily devotional and several activities to help you stay consistent in your Lenten practices. We are specifically focusing on raising money for ELCA World Hunger, to support their work and accompaniment with those in need. BONUS: We are competing with all the nearby synods in Region 2 to see which synod can garner the most participation!
Learn about AMMPARO — Did you know that the Grand Canyon Synod is committed to being a welcoming synod to unaccompanied minors seeking asylum? The ELCA’s strategy to Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy, Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO) seeks to minister to children fleeing their homes for a complex set of reasons.
Read ELCA Advocacy’s update on the Farm Bill — The Farm Bill has the ability to drastically affect food production and availability in our country. As we continue to wait for Congress to pass a package of bills, get up-to-date on where the process sits, and how you can work with your law makers to ensure that our most vulnerable neighbors are represented in the conversation.
Join us for Hunger Advocacy Day At The Capitol — Our Hunger coalition, the Arizona Anti-Hunger Alliance (AzAHA) is hosting an advocacy day to talk about some specific pieces of legislation that impact hunger in Arizona, and urge our lawmakers to take action. The sign-up window for our complimentary lunch has ended, but there is still time to register and join us!
Host a letter writing campaign — Advocate with your congregation! Check out Bread for the World’s resources for letter writing campaigns relating to federal policy, or reach out to our office with help setting up one of your own.
Learn about the Child Tax Credit — The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is a piece of legislation that would lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and therein, would help alleviate food insecurity for countless families. Learn about the CTC’s status and what you can do to support the passage of this important policy now!
Pray for your elected officials and for advocates—spiritually accompany those tasked with the responsibility of shaping our policy
Tune into our weekly RTS alerts to keep up to date with Arizona legislation!
In many ways, Lent reminds me of Advent. They are both seasons of anticipation: Advent holds the promise of God’s love made manifest, and Lent holds the promise of that Love lived out. They are both seasons of preparation and reflection. We celebrate Advent with joy and thanksgiving over the gift of the Christ child, but we know where his story will go: the baby Jesus in the manger will come to know suffering, humiliation, and death. In the same way, Lent is solemn, reminding us of the brokenness in our world and the difficulty of walking with God, but in it there is also joy: at the end, Christ will triumph over death and set us free from the bondage of that brokenness.
I hope this Lent is a productive one for us all; let us prepare our hearts for the hope and love to come on Easter by walking through this season together.
In Peace,
Autumn Byars, ELCA World Hunger Hunger Advocacy Fellow
