“Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath…” —Exodus 16:29 (NIV)
I’ve always heard about the forty days of Lent between Ash Wednesday and Easter. But guess what? The math doesn’t compute. It’s really forty-six days; the six Sundays don’t count. I learned that because we live on this side of the Resurrection, many describe Sundays in Lent as “little Easters,” each one a day for worshipping and celebrating Jesus’s Resurrection, a day when many choose not to fast but to feast.
Me too! I decided. During Lent, I usually give up my numbing automatic responses for self-gratification to remind myself of what Jesus gave up for me. Most often that’s something I mindlessly put in my mouth—something sweet or salty or convenient, like the last bites of cheese-dripping pizza left on a child’s plate. I vow to eat more frugally, except on Sundays.
At family gatherings or lunch with our couples group after church or dinner with my husband, I’ve feasted. It sounds self-serving, but it has set Sunday apart as a day of celebration because Jesus has risen. And that reflects the rhythm of life with Jesus, a pattern of both suffering and celebrating, fasting and feasting. By doing that more intentionally, I become more aware of celebrating little Easters throughout the year.
Lord, I want to live in the rhythm of life with You.
Digging Deeper: Romans 8:17, Philippians 3:10
