Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent. We will gather in the sanctuary at 7:30pm for our Ash Wednesday worship. Each year during Lent, when I was a child, I would have to ‘give something up.’ About a week before Lent my parents would start asking me what I wanted to give up, my pastor would talk about it in his sermon and my Sunday school teachers would remind me of how important it was. There was just no getting around it!

Because of this experience, Lent became known to me as the season of ‘giving something up.’ Most years it was chocolate. I would deny myself this favorite treat for the forty days leading up to Easter, with the exception of Sundays. Actually Sunday was my favorite part of Lent! Even if I gave up chocolate Monday through Saturday, I could still get my favorite treat on Sundays!

For many years the spiritual benefit of fasting, or ‘giving something up’, for Lent was lost on me. However, as an adult I am glad that I was ‘encouraged’ in this practice as a child. When we give something up that is part of our daily life we are reminded of our need for God and our dependence on God. Through fasting, we become mindful of Jesus’ suffering and are prepared for the celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Christ from the dead. Lent is the season of ‘giving something up.’ Giving up our independence and recognizing our dependence on God. Giving up our self-sufficiency and acknowledging that we are only made whole through God’s grace.

And I’ll tell you something else. Sundays are still my favorite part of Lent! Not because I get to eat chocolate but because every Sunday is a little Easter; a celebration that through all Christ gave up for us we can join with him in his resurrection, not because we’ve earned it, but through God’s ever present grace.