Lint vs. Lent

    Last week we entered the season of Lent, and invariably as we do, someone says reiterates the old joke, “I thought ‘lent’ was the stuff that is a byproduct of drying clothes or in one’s belly button.”  Maybe it’s a little off, and certainly it is not liturgically correct, but as I’ve thought about that little joke I’ve come to the conclusion that, though it misses the mark, it’s not a bad analogy for what happens to us when we go through Lent...or should I say “when Lent goes through us.”
    Lint is a byproduct of fibers being rubbed off through the process of cleaning.  When it comes to dryer lint this is a collection of small fibers which lay on the outer surface of clothing, and when the cloth is dried, loose fibers rub off the surface.  It leaves the cloth cleaner and smoother.  Logically, the same kind of process happens with belly button lint, but I won’t go into the details of that one out.
    As I thought about lint being made up of fibers that are sloughed off, I realized that that’s a pretty good analogy for what is intended to happen as we go through the season of Lent.  The reality is that we are people who have plenty to slough off.  We are people who have rough edges, carry on the surface many fibers that need to be rubbed off, and need to release the unfinished parts of ourselves.  So when we enter this season of Lent and take it seriously, God makes a way to clean us off and smooth us out.
    Through the process of meditating on the Cross, giving up something significant, and seeking to connect with God consistently and deliberately, we begin to add some heat to our lives.  A little tumbling and chaos can ensue as we explore the depths of what we so often avoid, but slowly, sometimes painfully, the pieces are sloughed off.  In the end we emerge a little different, a little shaved on the rough edges, but cleaner and smoother.
    As I reflect upon this, I find myself asking, “So what is the lint God has prepared to be sloughed off of me this Lenten season?”  I ask you the same question.  “To where is is God inviting you to go so that the hot places of life will be tumbled dry and cleansed?  What needs to be sloughed off of you this Lent?”
    These are questions worth asking, but no matter the wondering, the truth of the matter is, in order for us to be made clean, to be smoothed, to be shaped into who God needs us to be, we have to be willing to go to the places where God needs us to go, seek the things God needs us to seek, and be the people God needs us to be, even if it means we find ourselves at the foot of the cross with Jesus.
    Lent is one of my favorite seasons of the church year for many reasons, but one of the big reason is that it exposes the rough edges and invites me to let God take them away and reshape me clean.  I challenge you to take this same attitude and live into Lent in the same ways.  You’ll be blessed if you do.