Shed.
Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
~ Hebrews 12:1
lent, 1
For my birthday last month, I used family contributions to buy myself a new mountain bike. When we lived in Greensboro from 2002 - 2016, the watershed trails in the north of town were my favorite local haunt. At least once a week when the weather was nice, you could find me hurtling down those dirt paths, defying gravity and getting a shot of adrenaline. These micro-adventures kept me alive during some dark times. When we moved to Boone, I ironically found it difficult to find good places to mountain bike in the mountains. So I’m delighted to be back on my Greensboro trails (in between snows).
Interestingly, the technology has really leapt forward over the last twenty years on mountain bikes. In addition to a more efficient drivetrain, disc brakes, and a dropper post, my new bike probably weighs five to seven pounds less than my last one. All told, the new ride feels like rolling on a cloud! It’s amazing what the lighter weight itself does, especially for these sixty-year-old legs. Which leads me to a vision for living lighter over the coming weeks of Lent.
Why Lent?
Although this historical season in the church was not part of my upbringing, I have come to find it a timely rhythm in my personal journey each year. As I described last week, the outward thrust of Epiphany now necessarily recedes into a time of reflection and—our word for this year—shedding.
Why Shed?
Just like snakes (all reptiles actually, including lizards, turtles, and crocodilians) slough off their outer skin on a regular basis, so we too come to places where we realize that some portion of ourselves is no longer serving us well. No longer moving us toward the Christ-in-us that longs to be revealed (Rom 8:19). Thankfully, we are not stuck with those parts; we can simply lay them aside and move forward with “new skin.” This is what we call grace…and it is indeed free!
These 40 days leading up to Resurrection, starting this coming Wednesday, comprise a season to open our hearts to the gentle Light of Christ, not because God wants to shame us (shame has no place in the spiritual life) but because God wants to free us. In fact, freedom is the most trustworthy gauge of our spiritual growth; the more agency we experience in becoming our True Selves—the easier it is to “shed” our destructive coping mechanisms—the more we are living the life of grace. The life of the Spirit.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. ~ Gal 5:1
So this is the invitation of Lent: How do you want to unburden yourself over these coming weeks? Maybe there has been an action or an attitude or a relationship that served a purpose for a while… but now it is just dead weight. Let it go!
growing your soul
What I talk about freedom, what rises up in you that wants to be shed?
serving our world
Now that you’ve named the dead weight, ponder for a moment how your new freedom will impact those around you?
takeaway
Live Lightly.