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Great
Lent: The Great InvitationAuthor: Bishop Danny
Punnose
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Gospel for Asia (GFA World)
March 19, 2021
OPINION, March 19, 2021 /Christian
Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Bishop Danny Punnose,
vice-president of Gospel for Asia:
Have you noticed many restaurants are
advertising fish sandwiches and seafood lately? That's because the Church is
in the middle of the season of Great Lent.
During this season, which began around 40 days before Easter, people around
the world are spending greater time in prayer and intentionally taking part
in fasting and almsgiving (the practice of giving for the sake of others).
Traditionally, many people give up meat for Lent and opt for either
vegetarian or seafood dishes instead—hence the reason for all the fish
sandwich commercials you've been seeing. Others give up entertainment of
some kind, or social media. Maybe you've even noticed some of your friends
or co-workers fasting or abstaining from certain things?
Lent is a wonderful opportunity for us to deepen our faith through prayer
and repentance. By giving up something as a sacrifice, we can purposefully
make more space for prayer and repentance in our lives, and grasp more
opportunities to bless and help those in need. This idea may seem a little
strange to us, but it has always been a timeless practice of the Holy Church
to take this season of repentance seriously so that we may experience God
purifying our hearts. The purpose is for us to find joy in God's grace.
Not Too Late to Join the Lent Journey
Even though we're already in the middle of Lent, I invite you to join the
one billion-plus people around the world already on this journey. It's never
too late to start! This solemn, focused time of prayer, fasting and
almsgiving leads us onward to the joy of the Easter season, when we
celebrate the resurrection of Christ and look forward to His second coming.
Like an athlete has seasons of intense conditioning and training, this is
the Church's season of conditioning, when we purposefully put ourselves in a
place of exercising those areas of our life—especially confession and
repentance—that we so often neglect and push to the back-burner.
Do Just One Thing
Why not practice one small thing during this Lent season? Don't miss the
point by getting caught up in trying to do everything all at once and then
become discouraged because you can't do it all. For millions of Christians,
Lent is actually a time of unspeakable joy and blessing in the midst of
oftentimes-small sacrifices.
My first suggestion is this: Pray what is known as the "Jesus Prayer" every
day: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This
timeless prayer is meant to focus our hearts, our minds, our bodies, our
attitudes and our attention on Christ and the mercy of God. It's a powerful
prayer—simple, yet profound. As you pray this prayer multiple times
throughout the day, you'll find your heart yearning for more of God and
yourself leaning on His mercy.
As you practice times of prayer and fasting, look for opportunities (or
create opportunities) to bless others. It might be your own family member;
it might be a co-worker or a classmate; it might be someone on the side of
the road who's asking for help. When we show kindness and love toward
others, we demonstrate our faith in action, as James the Apostle taught us
to do.
Finally—don't be discouraged if you feel you're not practicing Lent
"correctly." Lent is not a pass-fail examination. Remember it's an
invitation to journey with Christ "in the desert"—to purposely engage in
prayer, fasting and to look intentionally for opportunities to bless others.
It begins with our willingness. Then we put our willingness into action and
trust God to do His work in His perfect timing.
Wholehearted Engagement in Timeless Worship
So, as you see all the advertisements for fish sandwiches and seafood,
remember that Lent is an invitation to engage your heart, mind, and body in
the same ways Christ did in the desert. Through these simple practices, we
join in the timeless worship of God with all the saints who are part of the
Holy Church, past and present—and those who will come after us.
Remember: Just do one thing for Lent. Do it with all your heart -- and
you'll experience a deep blessing from God.
Bishop Danny Punnose is
vice-president of Gospel for Asia (GFA World,
www.gfa.org), a Texas-based
Christian mission agency that serves the extreme poor and marginalized around
the world. GFA World has launched a devotional website for Lent 2021,
www.gfa.org/lent.
SOURCE Gospel for Asia
CONTACT: Gregg Wooding, InChrist Communications, Account Executive,
972-567-7660,
gwooding@inchristcommunications.com