Laziness and Lent

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent, Year B
Genesis 9.8-15 Psalm 25 1 Peter 3.18-22 Matthew 1.12-15

There is something different about Lent – actually, everything should be different during Lent. This is the only time of the year when the Church tells us what we must eat – or, more precisely, what we cannot eat. This is the only time of the year when we bring out symbols like ashes and palms; for many of us, it is the only time of the year when we might pray certain devotions like the stations of the cross. And, for most of us, it is the only time of the year when we fast – when we give up something that we like – fasting from chocolate or television or meat, filling up what is empty with extra prayers and good works. Yes, there is something different about these forty days – different from any other time of the year.

Even what we do here at Mass is different. There are no flowers during Lent – instead, we have bare branches in the sanctuary. The music is more subdued than usual – no preludes or postludes, we sing more things a cappella, without instruments to support us. Even the way we pray is different – our general intercessions, the prayers of the faithful, are more thoughtful and measured, and we will respond to these prayers in song, lifting our voices and our prayers together to the Lord. And there is silence – even more silence than usual – a silence that can be haunting, yet pregnant with meaning. A Mass during Lent looks and sounds different than at any other time of the year.

But why do we need all this different-ness? What makes these forty days so unique that they call for a completely different attitude and atmosphere? I think it all comes down to one thing – we’re lazy. It’s hard work to be a good person; it’s hard work to give ourselves to the service of God, to support and strengthen our family, to make this world a better place. It’s hard work to follow the gospel and live constantly with one eye fixed on the kingdom of heaven. We know how hard it is – and most of the time we’re too lazy to do it. Satan is most successful when he succeeds in making us lazy and apathetic. And boy is that tempting! It’s easy to choose sleep over prayer, to choose a night out at the movies over the weekly Stations of the Cross. It’s easy to spend money on some new clothes or a video game rather than give that money to Catholic Relief Services or the Interfaith Community Council. It’s easy to justify our laziness and sinfulness and put it out of our minds rather than admit our failings and humbly beg God’s mercy and forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Year to year, our actions become nothing more than repeatedly hitting the easy button. And that’s why we need Lent.

We need Lent to get us back on track. We need the prayer, fasting, and almsgiving of this season to shake us out of our laziness and re-energize our faith. We need the starkness and silence of the Mass to help us once again listen to God. And we need the ashes to remind us of our mortality – that we are not God. We need these forty days each year, because we are lazy – and without an annual push to straighten our lives out, before we know it our laziness will rule our lives, and it will be almost impossible to overcome it. And so everything about Lent is different, and we fill the season with extra opportunities for prayer, Reconciliation, and service. Now, it’s up to you – it’s up to you to make the choice between the laziness of Satan or communion with God. It’s up to all of us to “repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1.15)