Lent is...

I ran across an article a couple days ago that had some good reflections on Lent. It's worth reading in its own right, but what really stuck with me were these words:

The Second Season :: Rev. Wayne Saffron

Lent is
Forty days till Easter,
Not counting Sundays.

Lent is actually
Six and a half weeks
Of very violet repentance
And very purple passion.

Lent is
Watching a man go to his death
And not being able to stop it.

Lent is
Helping send him
To the cross.

Lent is
Knowing this
And letting it sink in.

Lent is
Not getting off
The hook.

Lent is
Taking sin seriously,
Taking life seriously,
Taking death seriously,
Taking everything
More seriously
Than usual.

Lent is,
Among other things,
Having to wait for Spring.

Lent is
Six more weeks
Of shivering
In the cold.

Lent is
Not a very happy time,
But it is what
You have to go through
To get to Easter.