Great Lent: A Time to Rend Our Hearts to the Lord
 
Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing.
Joel 2:12-1

By God’s grace, we entered into the season of Great Lent on February 11th and will continue this journey until March 31st – the Resurrection Day of our Lord. But what is Lent? The word “Lent” comes from the Old English word “lengten,” which simply means “spring” – when the days lengthen and new life springs forth. It is a time in which we anticipate the victory of the light and life of Jesus Christ over the darkness of sin and death.
 
The Lenten season is a journey – a time of preparation and repentance in which we prepare our hearts to remember Jesus’ passion and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. It can be a deeply meaningful journey so long as we get past mere externalities. We may all be familiar with the outward expressions of Lent such as prayer, meditation, self-denial, fasting, etc... But Lent, like spiritual life in general, is not merely external. There are internal realities that give depth and meaning to our actions, things like humility, sacrifice, repentance, charity, and faith. The Lenten practice of denying usual comforts is a means of deepening our sense of union with Jesus and reorienting our lives around the things of God. We are to give up that which distracts and entangles us in order to experience the real joy and freedom we receive in Christ. 
 
As we continue our journey during this season of Great Lent, we must strive to render our hearts – tearing them away from self-absorption and binding them to Jesus. Regardless of our current state or our tendency to wander, we must return to our God. The purpose of our journey during Lent is to immerse ourselves in the experience of salvation so that it might increase our appreciation of Jesus’ love for us. 
 
As we journey toward Resurrection Day (Easter), let us be reminded of the reality of our broken humanity and also experience, with greater abundance, the reality of God’s redeeming grace.  And so, Lent invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection in the most meaningful way. During this Lenten season, may we rend our hearts to the Lord and rejoice in Christ, who came into the world to save us.
 
Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed Resurrection Day! May your Easter be filled with the bright hope and everlasting joy of our risen Savior!



With love and prayers,
Rev. Christopher Phil Daniel
Vicar, Jerusalem Mar Thoma Church
Connecticut