So here we are, back at Lent. Each year I look forward with much trepidation to the great F(e)ast of Lent. There is something very exciting about denial of the body, but to say that I whole-heartedly look forward to it would be lying.
It seems that Lent is the season where we celebrate – or perhaps I should say remember – our mortality and our death. The rest of the church year is spent celebrating Christ's resurrection and our eternal life through him, and living out our daily lives. But Lent is marked at both ends with death, beginning with the Ash Wednesday mass, the marking of the forehead with ashes, and the reminder that 'from dust ye came, and to dust ye shall return', and ending with the Maundy Thursday mass, the desolation of the sanctuary, the Good Friday mass and the crucifixion of the Lord.
It is a poignant reminder that we are spending this brief time in a sinful, fallen world, of which death and sacrifice are an inextricable part – a message that is all too easy to forget in the land of multi-bedroom homes, designer clothes, fast-food restaurants, and large screen tvs.
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