It is the middle of Lent, an odd
time to begin a Lenten spiritual discipline.
Traditionally a Christ-follower begins a Lenten discipline on Ash
Wednesday. One gives up something for
the purpose of drawing attention to faith.
I have, in past years, given up coffee, certain radio programs, red
meat, and other things. When I would
long for the burger or the latte, my longing would remind me how much I need
Jesus and I would confess my sins and focus on my dependence upon God.
We are now three weeks past Ash
Wednesday, so I am not proposing you give something up Lent 2013. I am making a suggestion. Read a book about Jesus. I am going to read a book by a New Testament,
Gerard Sloyan. I may also consider
something by Geza Vermes or Wayne Meeks.
You may not find these works edifying or interesting. Other excellent writers who have studied
Jesus in detail and then written about him are Phillip Yancey (The Jesus I Never Knew) and Tim Stafford
(Surprised by Jesus). Max Lucado has written numerous books that
focus on the cross and resurrection. His
works are pastoral and devotional.
Perhaps you are particularly toward
sitting and reading. If books aren’t
your thing, I still encourage you to check out one of the ancient biographies
of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John).
And also, if you have access to cable TV, watch and see if the History
channel is doing any specials on Jesus.
Often that network will devote several shows to documenting aspects of
Jesus’ life and the history of early Christianity. A word of warning: the History Channel is
secular and will not necessarily treat the history of Jesus from a faith
perspective. Knowing that and knowing
that a program might not affirm your Christian faith, you can glean a lot from
the presentations offered by the History Channel even if you don’t agree with
the conclusions.
There are also great movies about
Jesus. The Passion of the Christ directed by Mel Gibson was controversial
when it came out. It is worth reading up
on the controversy. For me, the film is
a moving depiction of the ordeal Jesus endured.
That film along with The Jesus
Film and others you might find have the potential to fix your mind on
Christianity and specifically on Jesus as we move through Lent toward
Easter.
The main thing is setting our minds
on Christ. Whether it is Bible reading,
reading commentary by Christian authors (e.g. Yancey), TV or film, shift your
attention. We have our favorite reality
shows, crime dramas, sit coms, or whatever.
We have our favorite movies and our favorite novels. My Lenten suggestion to you is to put that
input aside and let Jesus-focused program and stimuli by what you put into your
mind for the next three weeks. In this
way, we have Jesus on our minds when Palm Sunday and Good Friday and Easter
Sunday arrive. Making ourselves
Jesus-focused, we experience the drama of Easter with keen senses and receptive
hearts. We see Easter in a new way. And we come out of Easter knowing Jesus at a
deeper level.
That’s my Lenten suggestion to you.
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