Lenten Devotional Introduction
Prepare our hearts for resurrection
Lent has always been the liturgical season that intimidates me. Growing up, I heard about people giving up chocolate for Lent and never quite understood why. Even now, after three years of seminary education, I had to look up what this season of Lent means and how Presbyterians practice it.
In my preparation research for this series, I learned why some people feel called to give up things, like chocolate or social media, for Lent. It is not about the thing you are giving up so much as it is about the intention behind the giving up. Lent is an invitation to go against how society tells us to live and what society tells us is important in order to “prepare our hearts for resurrection” (“The give-and-take of Lent,” Presbyterians Today located on presbyterianmission.org). The things we give up, or the practices we might add on are intended to help draw us closer to God. The article I referenced above states “we give things up or take on practices because we need to learn again and again that we live and move and breathe and have our being in God.”
As I opened my heart and prayed for this devotion, I kept hearing these words being whispered over and over: “stillness,” “silence,” “listen,” and “heart.” This Lenten season, let us answer the call to slow down, dwell in stillness, breathe deeply in the silence so we might listen and hear what God is whispering into our hearts. As Ash Wednesday draws near, I invite you to think of something you might want to give up or a practice you might want to take on setting the intention of drawing nearer to the One who created you, calls you by name, sustains you, and loves you with an everlasting love.
About the author
Margaret Fleming has been a member of Second Presbyterian Church since 2017. A native of Mt. Pleasant, she found herself back home after graduating from Columbia Theological Seminary in May 2020. She resides in Mt. Pleasant with her husband Will, a fourth-year medical student at MUSC. She is a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA and is currently serving as a Chaplain Resident at Roper Hospital.