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A review by bickleyhouse
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau McCaulley
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is my second readthrough of this book, and I am revising my review a bit. I have also upped the star rating and given it five stars. I'm not sure what caused the four-star rating the first time, but I am in a very different place, spiritually, this time, and found the book to be much more valuable.
I am reading this as part of my reading for the Lenten season, this year, which actually begins the day after I finished the book (I started early).
This book is divided into four chapters, with an introduction and conclusion. The introduction discusses the necessity of repentance, and how Lent is a time for people to reconnect with God, whether we have become estranged from the church, or simply drifted from our faith. It is also a time when people begin to prepare for their baptism.
The author says that we should not see Lent as a "series of rules, but as a gift of the collected wisdom of the church universal." It is also important to note that "there is no single way to observe Lent given from on high that we must follow to be right with God."
The first chapter deals specifically with Ash Wednesday, the beginning day of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, we reflect on death, as we hear the words "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return," as we receive the imposition of the ashes. The author brings most of his experience from the Anglican Church, and one of their traditions on Ash Wednesday is the "Litany of Penitence," in which the congregants confess a variety of sins, not all of which they are guilty. Says McCaulley, "The thing I love about this litany is that it transcends our current culture wars." What he means by that, essentially, is that, in this litany, there is something for everyone. Another good thing about it is that it "doesn't condemn our ideological opponents and leave us feeling vindicated. A love for justice absent a love for God is empty. A love for God absent concern for our neighbors is a false witness. Love for God that doesn't pursue holiness misunderstands the freedom from sin inherent in the gospel."
In chapter two, he deals with the different rituals in the Lenten season, and what they mean. He discusses fasting (the most well-known Lenten ritual), study, renewal, charity and social justice, confession, and the stations of the cross. I go to a Lutheran church, and, in the two Lenten seasons I have participated in there, we have not done the stations ritual. It sounds very moving, though.
Chapter 3 goes through the prescribed prayers for each of the Sundays of Lent, as well as the suggested Scripture readings for those weeks. Then chapter four goes into the significance of each day of Holy Week, and the services within them. I found one interesting difference in the author's tradition and the observances at my church. He had the Stripping of the Altar in the Maundy Thursday service. At my Lutheran church, this is at the end of the Good Friday service. But once again, back to the previous quote . . . there is no single way to observe Lent. That is part of the beauty of it.
It is important, though, to note that Lent isn't about "endless repetition of the fact that we are sinners. Instead, it offers us over and over the chance to see the beauty of life with God--a beauty that has been obscured by a multitude of compromises. Let is a quieting of the soul and a lessening of distractions so we can again hear the voice of God."
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning more about Lent (I recommend the entire series for great reading on the entire Church year), as well as someone who is well-familiar with Lent and would like a quick and easy-to-read refresher.
I am reading this as part of my reading for the Lenten season, this year, which actually begins the day after I finished the book (I started early).
This book is divided into four chapters, with an introduction and conclusion. The introduction discusses the necessity of repentance, and how Lent is a time for people to reconnect with God, whether we have become estranged from the church, or simply drifted from our faith. It is also a time when people begin to prepare for their baptism.
The author says that we should not see Lent as a "series of rules, but as a gift of the collected wisdom of the church universal." It is also important to note that "there is no single way to observe Lent given from on high that we must follow to be right with God."
The first chapter deals specifically with Ash Wednesday, the beginning day of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, we reflect on death, as we hear the words "Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return," as we receive the imposition of the ashes. The author brings most of his experience from the Anglican Church, and one of their traditions on Ash Wednesday is the "Litany of Penitence," in which the congregants confess a variety of sins, not all of which they are guilty. Says McCaulley, "The thing I love about this litany is that it transcends our current culture wars." What he means by that, essentially, is that, in this litany, there is something for everyone. Another good thing about it is that it "doesn't condemn our ideological opponents and leave us feeling vindicated. A love for justice absent a love for God is empty. A love for God absent concern for our neighbors is a false witness. Love for God that doesn't pursue holiness misunderstands the freedom from sin inherent in the gospel."
In chapter two, he deals with the different rituals in the Lenten season, and what they mean. He discusses fasting (the most well-known Lenten ritual), study, renewal, charity and social justice, confession, and the stations of the cross. I go to a Lutheran church, and, in the two Lenten seasons I have participated in there, we have not done the stations ritual. It sounds very moving, though.
Chapter 3 goes through the prescribed prayers for each of the Sundays of Lent, as well as the suggested Scripture readings for those weeks. Then chapter four goes into the significance of each day of Holy Week, and the services within them. I found one interesting difference in the author's tradition and the observances at my church. He had the Stripping of the Altar in the Maundy Thursday service. At my Lutheran church, this is at the end of the Good Friday service. But once again, back to the previous quote . . . there is no single way to observe Lent. That is part of the beauty of it.
It is important, though, to note that Lent isn't about "endless repetition of the fact that we are sinners. Instead, it offers us over and over the chance to see the beauty of life with God--a beauty that has been obscured by a multitude of compromises. Let is a quieting of the soul and a lessening of distractions so we can again hear the voice of God."
I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning more about Lent (I recommend the entire series for great reading on the entire Church year), as well as someone who is well-familiar with Lent and would like a quick and easy-to-read refresher.