Lent is a spiritual time of preparation for Easter. Historically, it has also been a time of preparation either for baptism itself, or to renew the commitments that were made at baptism. As a result, it is frequently a time of repentance, an opportunity for reorientation, a chance to take stock of whether or not we need to change directions. Lent is a time to turn to the hard teachings of Jesus, a time to be reminded that the Christian life, which we so often want to make easy, is in fact difficult. In fact, this difficult life is exactly what Jesus promises to those who would follow him in Luke’s gospel:
If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of money, and then everyone would laugh at you. They would say, ‘There’s the person who started that building and couldn’t afford to finish it!’
Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
It’s a tough teaching and I’m sorely tempted to soften it here; instead, I’ll simply invite us to ponder it as we reflect on what in our lives Jesus might be calling us to turn from so that we might turn more fully toward God.