Finding Our Rhythm Again: An Invitation into Lent
- David Anderson
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
This year, our Ash Wednesday was a breakthrough. The service turned into one long prayer. For those who do not always observe Lent, this was a great way to start it. However, that service landed on you; there are typically two overarching reactions to Lent.
Some of you are thinking, What exactly is Lent, Ash Wednesday, or even Shrove Tuesday? Others are thinking, Oh, right, it is Lent. I forgot. That is what we are doing right now.
Both reactions matter, and Lent has something to say to each of them.
What Is Lent, Anyway?
I try to explain Lent every year. It is very similar to the idea of Advent being the season that ushers in Christmas. Lent is a forty-day season of reflection, repentance, fasting, and prayer that prepares the church for Easter. The practice was formally recognized by the early church in the fourth century and follows a pattern rooted deeply in Scripture.
Moses fasted forty days and nights as Israel renewed its covenant with God. Jesus fasted forty days and nights in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry. Throughout Scripture, forty days often mark seasons of testing, preparation, and clarity.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. Traditionally, ashes made from the previous year’s Palm Sunday branches are placed on the forehead in the shape of a cross, accompanied by the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” While we did not do this during our service, it is a very meaningful practice. It is not meant to be dramatic or morbid. It is honest. It reminds us that our time is limited, our lives are fragile, and therefore our lives matter. Lent is not about isolated holy days. It is about seasons. It invites us into a slower, intentional rhythm of life.
When You Are Out of Sync
For others, Lent feels familiar, but this year it arrived at an awkward moment. You forgot it was coming. Your rhythms feel off. Something about the last year unsettled you.
At first, the disruptions were almost welcome. Slower mornings. Cancelled commitments. Walks outside. A pause from constant motion. But over time, that pause became disorientation. The days blurred. The habits that once grounded you quietly faded.
Ash Wednesday often marks that moment when we realize we are out of sync. We want to get back into a spiritual rhythm, but we are not quite sure how.
Lent is not about rushing to apologize or scrambling to feel sorry enough. It is not spiritual cleanup after indulgence. The words “you are dust” do not say, “Hurry up and feel guilty.” They say, “Your time is limited. Choose how you live.”
Luke 4:1-15
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written,
“‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”
And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’
and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.
What We Are Really Tempted By
The Gospel reading traditionally associated with Lent tells the story of Jesus in the wilderness, tempted by the devil after forty days of fasting. These temptations are not small or trivial. Jesus is not tempted with comfort food or convenience. He is tempted by power, control, and success.
In resisting these temptations, Jesus shows us three essential directions for a faithful life.
First, Jesus chooses to live inwardly. When tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus refuses to let his immediate physical hunger dictate his identity or mission. The temptation is not really about bread. It is about living a me-first life, focused on quick fixes and immediate satisfaction. Jesus reminds us that a life driven only by appetite will never be full.
Second, Jesus chooses to live upwardly. When offered authority over all the kingdoms of the world, Jesus refuses to trade his allegiance to God for power that will always fade. Earthly glory melts quickly. Empires fall. Systems fail. Jesus keeps his focus fixed on the only authority that lasts.
Third, Jesus chooses to live outwardly. The final temptation offers Jesus a successful mission without suffering. A safe path. A spectacular but painless victory. Jesus refuses it. He embraces a calling that includes risk, vulnerability, and sacrifice for the sake of others.
In each temptation, Jesus resists being pulled away from a life oriented inwardly toward God’s Spirit, upwardly toward God’s authority, and outwardly toward God’s people.
An Invitation, Not an Obligation
Lent invites us to examine the same directions in our own lives. Where have we drifted toward quick fixes? Where have we chased recognition or control? Where have we avoided risk, sacrifice, or service? This season is not about performing religious discipline for its own sake. It is about recovering our rhythm. It is about remembering who we are, whose we are, and how we are called to live.
If the last year knocked you out of sync, Lent offers a gentle way back. Not through guilt, but through clarity. Not through shame, but through intention.
We are dust. Our days are finite. And precisely because of that, this season is a gift.
Lent is an invitation to live again inwardly, upwardly, and outwardly, following the One who walked through the wilderness before us and came back in the power of the Spirit.
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