Our family has gotten bad news after bad news this week.  Things seem dark.  There have been a lot of tears.  The grimness can be overwhelming.  In times like these I’m reminded that Jesus experienced sorrows and pain, too.  So we run into his welcoming arms because he understands.  During this sad week, one lone daffodil opened it’s sunny petals in my garden.  It almost glows in the grayness of our cold, wet days.  It reminds me that although it may be dark now, there is hope for good things ahead.  And isn’t that what the current season of Lent is all about?

At Christmas, many families of faith celebrate Advent.  It’s a happy time of anticipation leading up to the celebration of Jesus coming as a baby. The whole season is festive with parties, special treats, and gifts.  But Lent has a different tone.  It feels somber and has old traditions of self-denial and penitence.  Perhaps this is why many faith communities have abandoned Lent.  But perhaps we could reclaim the idea of Lent without slipping into legalism and the ‘have to’ mentality.  We ‘get to’ take time out of our overly busy or self-centered schedules to think about Jesus because we love and appreciate him.  We ‘get to’ spend a little extra time with him during Lent remembering what he did for us.

We need to keep in mind that Lent isn’t mentioned in the Bible, so we’re not obligated to obey any specific requirements associated with it.  But we can use the Biblical concepts of Lent to draw us closer to Jesus.  At its core, Lent is for remembering the suffering and death of our Savior so we can wholeheartedly celebrate his Resurrection.  Jesus commanded us to remember his death till he comes back.  We do this by taking communion.  And we can also remember by taking time to meditate during the season leading up to Holy Week.

Thinking about the suffering of Jesus actually is comforting which seems counterintuitive.  It encourages us when we remember that our Savior has walked the darkest of valleys. And now he is walking with us in our dark valleys.

“Even when I walk
through the darkest valley, (can be translated- the valley of the shadow of death)
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.”  Psalm 23:4

He isn’t a deity that is far removed from our lives.  Jesus was human as well as divine and suffered in his humanity during his days on earth as we do. He is touched by our sorrows because he himself was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.  He never tells us to ignore our pain.

“He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.”  Isaiah 53:3 Another translation reads, “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”

We never have to deny our sad feelings by pretending everything is ok.  When we’re hurting, it’s alright to cry.  Our powerful Savior cried even tho he knew the final outcome would be happy.  He shed tears when he was on earth and he sees our tears.  Someday he will wipe those tears away forever.

“Then Jesus wept.”  John 11:35

“he became deeply troubled and distressed. . . My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.”  Jesus shortly before his arrest, torture and crucifixion in Mark 14:33-34

“You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.”  David talking to God in Psalm 56:8

“He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears.”  Isaiah 25:8

“God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  Rev 21:4

Because he experienced everything we experience, he is compassionate, patient, understanding, and gracious toward us in our weakness.  What good news this is!  No matter how many times we stumble, he is ready to forgive and help us move forward in following him.

“Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”  When he was dreading his imminent suffering, Jesus prayed, but Peter couldn’t stay awake to pray with him in Matthew 26:41

“Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.”  Hebrews 2:18

“This High Priest of ours (Jesus, the Son of God) understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”  Hebrews 4:14-16

Lent speaks to us not only about Jesus’ suffering and ours, but also about Jesus’ death and ours.  As Ash Wednesday observance says, “We are dust and to dust we will return.”  This isn’t morbid.  This is reality . . . and hope.  Jesus’ death was necessary because we sin.  There was no other way to pay for our sins.  The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament couldn’t do it completely.  We, ourselves, can’t do enough to wipe out our rebellion against Perfection.  We stand guilty before Almighty God.  Only a perfect sacrifice could erase our sins.  The good news is that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice and we are forgiven!  Our death isn’t the end of our stories.  We can wake to eternal life because Jesus took the punishment for us.  We can join him in a perfect world.  And part of that is getting new bodies that won’t turn to dust.  Our bodies matter to God.  So much so that he took on a human body and died in a body.  Just like Jesus, we will get a new, perfect body to enjoy him in a restored creation forever.

The Lenten season calls us to remember the kind of Savior we have.  One who felt everything we feel, who experienced the same weakness, pain, and sorrow that we do.  One who agonized, suffered, grieved, and cried.  One who died.  One who gave up everything to bring us to God.  He forgives.  He understands, and he is patient and gentle with us.  He is gracious and gives grace.  He is close to us and yearns for us to draw close to him.  He is walking in our dark valleys with us and gives us hope for a bright future.