All of a sudden, we are squarely into the Easter season (as marked by my annual tradition of enjoying Cadbury Creme Eggs). Each year we have our own calendar of events, intended to lead us into worship of God and appreciating the significance of the cross/death and resurrection of Christ. We'll talk more about it over the next week, and I hope you'll join us as we fast, celebrate a communion meal, gather on Good Friday, pray through Saturday, then celebrate together on Resurrection Sunday. With all these forms of celebration, some have asked why we don't observe Lent. Lent is a season of self-denial, observed mostly by Catholics, beginning on Ash Wednesday and culminating on Easter. My answer as to why we don't observe this as a church would be simply that individuals are free to do so, but it's not something we feel the burden to promote as a congregation. It's generally not a bad thing to practice self-denial for a season, whether that be giving up candy, social media, unhealthy foods, or some bad, unhelpful, or indulgent habit. However, we must be careful about motivation, and that does give me some pause regarding Lent. Many have observed and understood Lent as a means of obtaining blessing or favor from God. Others have used Lent as a means of practicing and then highlighting their own willpower or religious zeal. It can quickly turn into a form of self-righteousness, religious self-promotion, or empty observance of tradition. Ultimately, the Easter season is not about what we do for God, but what God has done for us - and I would want to protect that priority. I also want to be careful about binding peoples' consciences regarding spiritual practices for a significant length of time or over a season that has no real grounding in Scripture. So, I am pleased if individuals want to follow the Lord and deny themselves as God and their consciences lead them, assuming this is done in a spirit of worship and devotion, and not in self-righteousness or in an effort to earn God's favor. And I will happily invite the church to gather together as we celebrate and emphasize the cross and resurrection in ways that are special and unique to this season. But I am more hesitant to emphasize Lent as if it is essential for individuals or even significant in our own church tradition. I would be curious to hear what others think!