A call to contemplation for Lent

Here are a few practices to help you get in that space.

Photo of a chair in nature is by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash.

Today, February 14, the Church will begin the season of Lent, the 40-day (not counting Sundays) journey to the cross and then to the empty tomb. If you’re new to the idea of Lent, you’re not alone! Many Baptist congregations do not observe it, and I had not really even heard of it until I went to seminary. But my faith has been enriched by thinking of the weeks leading up to Easter as a time of spiritual preparation for receiving the good news of Jesus’ resurrection. 

Some people who are more familiar with Lent think of it as a sacrificial time when we give up something that we enjoy or even rely upon, such as dessert or caffeine. I prefer to think of the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday as an intentional deepening of our presence and openness to God, one another and even ourselves. 

What we might need to lay aside, then, could be a hectic pace of life and a crowded mind more than a tangible object that we then pick right back up after all the Easter eggs are gathered. (As a minister, mom, business owner and Enneagram 5, I know well that this is easier said than done.) What we might want to add in their stead is an orientation of contemplation. 

But what is contemplation?

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