Necessary Steps: Lent

Armodoxy for Today: Necessary Steps

I saw a performance by Paul McCartney this morning. It was in a sold-out stadium somewhere in the world, which is usual fare for him. The cameras were being switched between McCartney, his band, the audience and wide angles covering the large arena.

He was wearing a t-shirt with writing on it. The words “No more…” at the top of the shirt caught my eye. For a moment there I thought, how appropriate at the beginning of the Lenten season to be advocating for vegetarian diets. He’s known for being a passionate advocate for plant-based diets, promoting animal rights and environmental sustainability. Lent? Meatless diets? No, there was a greater message underneath the words.

NO MORE LANDMINES, yelled out the words on his shirt.

Landmines: they maim and injure people with lifelong scars, both physical and psychological. I remember a few years back, spending a few days at the Halo Trust in Artsakh and learning how they meticulously and methodically, one-by-one cleared the fields of these vicious weapons of war.

I wondered why McCartney hadn’t opted for the bigger issue of “No More War”? Why stop at landmines? And then I caught myself. It’s just a t-shirt with a message.  It’s the message he wanted to spread. It was a message I aligned with, but he was the one wearing the shirt, not me.

As we begin the Lenten season, we are called to use this period of the Lent, the 40 days to prepare ourselves for the bigger picture, namely life. Much in the same way that getting rid of a landmine is a process toward a bigger goal, the forty days of Lent are not an end in themselves. They prepare us for the 325 days that follow, that is, our lives. Lent is our m means to methodically evaluate our lives and selves to better function in this world in harmony and peace.

Pray today for strength and patience, as we take the small steps of fasting and introspection to deliver us to a more productive and blessed life. To borrow from the Taoist tradition, we keep in mind that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.