Thomas Altepeter

A primary theme of our current liturgical season, Lent, is repentance. Unfortunately, we have come to think of repentance in a narrow way — as experiencing guilt and remorse for our mistakes. This is not what the word meant in the original Greek, and probably not what Jesus
meant when he used it in this context. Rather, in the original Greek, the word “repent” meant to go beyond the mind that you have.

But, the fundamental question for us is one of spiritual discernment: What is the movement of God?

What is God doing around us, among us, and in us?

In Luke 4:1-13 we encounter Jesus in the desert. In scriptural imagery, the desert is a place of anguish, of searching, and of purification. Just prior to this scene in the gospel of Luke, Jesus was baptized by John.

Traditionally, in the Christian tradition, Lenten observance has included a variety of practices including prayer, fasting and abstinence, penance and almsgiving. The goals of these practices are to experience spiritual awakening, purification and renewal.

This week we begin the liturgical season of Lent. Let's talk a bit about the history, purpose and practices of Lent.

Lent is a period of 40 days set aside to spiritually prepare for Easter.

Jesus was not talking about love the way our culture tends to talk about love. This is not about a superficial, “feel good” kind of love. It is not about a short term, self centered kind of love that focuses on me, and mine. Jesus was not saying that what matters is that I am loved, or that I experience that warm fuzzy feeling that we often associate with love.

He was part of a well defined group in the gospels — the poor, the blind, the deaf, the lame, the sick, the disabled. They were poor, often homeless, and left to beg for food and basic needs. The cultural assumption was that their predicament was a consequence of sin — their sin or the sin of their ancestors.