The Lenten journey with Jesus to the cross is a holy disruption that invites us into the wilderness. It is counter to the rush of life and the ever-expanding culture of “more.”
As disciples who claim the name and mission of Christ, we know this journey of self-examination is not for its own sake, but to increase our capacity for self-giving love.
This journey asks something of us…sometimes more than I am willing to give, give up, or forgive…but we know the life-giving and creation-restoring end to the story. Scripture affirms an everlasting love that accompanies us and “delights in each faithful step taken” (Doctrine and Covenants 163:10a). This is the light for our uncharted wilderness path. It might not illuminate the whole journey, but when we are open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, it keeps us moving in the right direction.
The wilderness may seem stripped bare of life, but scripture reveals the spiritual significance of the wilderness experience. It is where the Israelites formed as a people of God, and Jesus formed in awareness and readiness to fulfill his mission. What is the wilderness invitation for us in this season of Lent? How are we formed as individuals and as new communities that reveal and respond to God’s purposes of justice, wholeness, and peace?
This journey invites us to resist the forces of culture, step away from the rush toward Easter, and prophetically imagine what it means to embody the ethics of Jesus, the peaceful One. We cannot claim this journey with Jesus without dwelling with him in the wilderness temptations and walking with him to the cross.
The Lenten journey with Jesus to the cross is a holy disruption that invites us into the wilderness.
I write this with humility and confess my tendency to lean into comfort and privilege…to take the easiest path possible. In considering my response, I am challenged by the temptations of power, wealth, and pride that Jesus experienced. Where do these temptations and realities show up in my life and community? What is the status quo being challenged that can free the full capacity of Christ’s mission?
This wilderness journey is not about dwelling in despair; it is an invitation to fast from what consumes us, examine a deeper hunger for wholeness, find new life in a posture of simplicity, and practice prophetic agility. Lent invites us to examine our discipleship in a way that is less about what spiritual practices we do or how we do them, and more about tending our spiritual condition.
Traditional acts of fasting and alms-giving are not rote practices to appease God; they are about making space in our lives so God can live in and through us more fully and freely. A Lenten fast invites self-examination of what we most hunger for and what we consume.
Tithing as a spiritual practice is not just about the money we give, but about the spiritual condition of our self-giving and the spiritual condition informing how we use what we keep. The practice of giving is counter to consumerism cultures, and it is radically transformative when it creates space for God’s generosity, creativity, and abundance to flow through us.
In my practices of self-examination, I recognize that many systems that privilege me also oppress the most economically vulnerable. I cannot deny that our collective welfare is interwoven. My Lenten journey invites me to notice what I consume and encourages me to support businesses and industries that uphold the Worth of All Persons and honor the Sacredness of Creation.
Imagine how our spiritual awakening liberates the capacity for Christ’s mission when authentic and self-giving love, a posture of simplicity, abundant generosity, and mindful spending are our shared practices.
And, always remember, the way of suffering love that leads to the cross also leads to resurrection and everlasting life in Christ’s eternal community of oneness and peace. Trust in this promise.
