By Archdeacon Norman Collier

St. Mary's Anglican Church

On Wednesday next week, we begin the season of Lent. Many people may already be thinking about their routines for Lent, because we all know — even those who haven't darkened the door of a church in ages — that we're supposed to give up something for Lent.

What will it be this year? Chocolate, coffee, TV, cigarettes?

The practice of giving something up for Lent has its roots in a desire to be more holy. We tell ourselves that giving up something will make us more disciplined, less self-centered, more appreciative of what God has done for us. A holy Lent will prepare us to receive the gift of the resurrection at Easter.

But I know that there are many who struggle with this idea, and many have simply abandoned it altogether. Self-denial and discipline don't come easily in our world, and 40 days, after all, is a long time. As someone once said, giving something up for Lent hasn't made them any holier. It's just made them a lot crankier.

No one wants Lent to be a season of crankiness, but neither would I want to throw out one of the most ancient and central practices of this season. There is value in the practice, but where does its value lie? What do we intend, what do we mean, when we say we are giving something up for Lent?

It is helpful to remember that the purpose of Lent is not to make us feel awful or undisciplined or unholy.

Lent is not about telling ourselves that we are somehow unworthy. Instead, all the Lenten practices we observe are there for us to make room for God in our lives. There are many ways to describe Lent, but certainly this is one of the most fundamental: creating space for God.

There is much in our lives that squeezes God out of our consciousness. We are busy people with many demands on our time. We are pulled in many directions, and are called by many voices. We can even become fixated on our cravings, from coffee to cigarettes to food to alcohol. They all add up to a mental and spiritual "crowdedness" where there is little space for God.

Perhaps it might be more helpful to think of Lent as an open space for God.

For 40 days, we practise reigning in all the busyness, all the distractions, all the compulsions that rule our lives in order to find some breathing space for God.

Lent is about finding a space for holiness, for the Spirit, in order to rest in the love of God which surrounds us and enfolds us.

In this way, Lent could become a gift rather than a burden. Lent could become a resting place where we can pause and reflect and realize that we are indeed on the way to Easter, to the gift of new life in God.

That is my hope. May Lent this year be a space, a clearing, in the chaos of the rest of our year.