Happy Lent!

The Lent Madness Logo

I wished a neighbour a Happy Lent yesterday, and she said, "Lent isn't supposed to be happy!" I replied that if it's a time designed to get us back on track with God, why can't it be happy?

Yeah, I know. I've had my share of dismal Lenten seasons. But with life as tough as it has been lately (for many reasons -- family illnesses, war, climate change, the local unkindnesses to homeless people, and the anti-trans ideology that threatens my kids and their friends), I need to spend my Lent focusing less on sin and misery -- there's enough of that already! -- and work with the good things that bring us all closer to Creator. 

So for the second year in a row, I'm choosing Lent Madness over penitential pessimism. Lent Madness is a completely different take on the March Madness tournament set up by the NCAA in the United States. Instead of pitting college basketball teams against each other in sudden death games, Lent Madness sets up 32 different holy folks in a so-callled "saintly smackdown" that invites readers to vote for one saint every day during Lent. It culminates with the vote on the final Golden Halo recipient.

Sound goofy? It can be a little silly at times (especially when the writers get into the saintly "kitsch" that can be found in online/souvenir stores), but it's also a way to learn about interesting Christians who have shaped our world through their compassion, conviction and faith. I explored a few of last year's contestants and found some really inspiring stories that motivated me to learn more about their faith and love for Christian community. (And don't worry, I was suitably penitential, too.)

Today's first saintly smackdown is between Thomas Cranmer (an English church reformer) and Thomas the Apostle, and it's never too late to get in on the event, though voting is available one day only -- tomorrow we'll have the opportunity to read, learn, and vote about two more holy folk.

I first heard about Lent Madness from Pastor Jim at ICPM, and couldn't help but participate fully last year. It was actually quite a moving experience, learning about saintly people I had never heard of, praying the daily prayers with some of the communion of saints I hadn't yet met, and discovering new holy friends who struggled with being human like we all do.

If you're looking for some saintly inspiration this Lent and want to join me and many other Christians from across North America, visit https://www.lentmadness.org/ and subscribe to the daily emails. 

And have a Happy Lent!

Simple Suggestion # 220... Celebrate multiculturalism

This morning as I listened to the radio, my heart cracked a little more, again. The radio host interviewed the mother of a young gentleman who was attacked by two un-gentlemen on a city bus on Friday night. The perpetrators used racial slurs and picked on their victim just because he was of a Turkish/Trinidadian background. And when people around him defended him and tried to help, the offenders lashed out at the good samaritans, too.

How people can be so terrible to one another on the basis of skin colour/race is beyond me, but I don't want to dwell on that. Instead, I'd like to suggest that we take every opportunity to celebrate multiculturalism wherever we live, and get to know our neighbours who are different than we are.

On Friday evening, there's a great opportunity -- our L'Arche community is celebrating what we call Heritage Day. Because the assistants of our core members with disabilities come from across the globe, we have an annual celebration where everyone is invited to dress in clothing from their own cultures and bring food to be shared with all participants. Last year we had foods from Brazil, Germany, Korea, Romania, Russia, and Syria, just to name a few. Entertainment and music are provided by the community, and sometimes a special cultural group will come to perform. I'm planning to bake some cookies that my family knows as German buns, but my friend Cathrin in Munich educated me, and now I'm calling them zuckerschnecken.

So, if you've nothing to do on Friday evening, come join us. Tickets are only $12, with all funds going to support L'Arche communities in Central and South America. It's a great way to celebrate our multicultural society, and to counteract the ignorance of those who have yet to learn that diversity is beautiful! To put it simply, friendship is always better than fear.

P.S. Looking for more Simple Suggestions? Click here.

Acceptance

In a shady corner in our yard is a rose bush that's never done very well. Every year it seems to become infested with spider mites, and I've been more and less effective in getting rid of them at different times. The poor little bush is often sadly neglected, and I've been tempted to judge it useless and tear it out. But for some reason, I've always wanted to see it bloom, and this year, it did!

I've been thinking a lot lately about our human tendency to judge each other... and how inhumane it can be. Where does it come from? Our need to be superior, our desire to be the best? But when we judge others, we are limiting our relationship with them by putting them in boxes of our own making.

Wouldn't it be better if we could just take people as they are, with all their foibles and limitations? It's the people who accept us as we are, who truly love us, whom we appreciate the most in our lives. Shouldn't we try to be that kind of person for all those around us? Isn't that what Jesus came to show us by his life?

Maybe we're all called to give the benefit of the doubt to all the rosebushes in our lives so that they can, eventually, surprise us with their hidden beauty.