There’s always somebody who’s giving up chocolate. “Well, I’m giving up sugar entirely,” says another friend, competitively. “Well, I’m giving up sugar AND alcohol AND meat,” says a third, and now we’re in a children’s book where the joke is, “Where does it all end?” A certain conductor suggested to me once (hilariously, no doubt) that I give up breathing for Lent. Maybe that’s where.

“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven,” Jesus says rather testily in Matthew 6. And, he adds, for goodness’ sake don’t look so DISMAL when you fast.

Not much has changed in two thousand years. We love to humble-brag about the difficult, worthy things we’re doing. If you were at our midday Ash Wednesday service you will have heard the Vicar say that the great trap of Lent is believing that we are fundamentally wicked and should spend these forty days piously punishing ourselves, trying to be somebody different despite the fact that God made us; and he hates nothing he has made.

But wait: does this mean we should throw all observance out the window? Of course not. Giving something up can be productive. One friend is trying to dramatically reduce (not eliminate) her use of disposable plastics during Lent. It’s impossible to do perfectly, but she’s trying anyway. If it works well, she’ll keep going past Easter. Yes, it’s a kind of self-denial, but it’s not punitive; it’s outward-looking, not self-centred.

Lent can also be a time to add things. My plan for Lent is to introduce a little bit more silence as a way of sharpening my other senses. The voice of God is still and small, and hard to hear when I’m constantly distracted. If you have time, taking up a devotional practice works well, too: Lectio Divina, regular prayer, or reading a book designed specifically for Lenten meditation.  

And what’s the point of all this? To prepare us for Easter, of course. We will spend much of Lent talking about sin and forgiveness, and using this time for self-examination; but we can also embrace the simplicity of these beautiful forty days. It will make the joy and relief of Easter, the exuberance of that first cacophonous Gloria on Easter morning, all the more meaningful. I wish you a holy Lent.