As we embark on our Lenten journey, recalling that it is a time of repentance and penitence, we must not forget that it is also a time for discovering joy. Usually, we don't seem to talk much about joy during this time of year, as we focus on the sorrows of His Passion, yet if our hearts do not know joy, then we are missing something.
Taylor Marshall spoke about joy within the Lenten season in his podcast, "40 Days of Joy." He remarked that it is when we lose our way that we lose our joy and peace. Lent is a time of finding our way again, a time of renewal in our faith lives, through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is through these helpful actions that we are able to meet Jesus once again and find our way in Him. It is in Him that we truly find our direction, for it is towards Him that we are traveling all throughout this life.
In Matthew 6:16, Jesus reminds his followers, "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites." As followers of Jesus Christ, we proclaim the joy we receive from friendship with Him. Fasting is a form of sacrifice. It is a delayed gratification, but Taylor Marshall reminds us that we can actually find gratification in the delay itself. Our whole life is a delayed gratification for the goodness of eternity spent with Christ! Within this delayed gratification, however, we find countless joys and beauties that are worthy of thanksgiving.
Jesus tells us that the road we will walk to follow him will be fraught with difficulties, so He calls us to carry our own crosses. Jesus shows us that sacrifice does not come without joy, though. Upon the cross, in the midst of His greatest suffering, He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" referencing Psalm 22. This is not a cry of hopelessness, but rather a cry of hope! Jesus quoted the first line of Psalm 22, not only to express His suffering, but also to refer to the joy which endured-suffering brings. Psalm 22 later goes on to say, "To you [our fathers] cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame." Jesus shows that He had hope amidst His greatest trial and trusted in His Father through it all. It is through praising God amidst the suffering that we are able to trust and then to have joy. Psalm 22 also goes on to praise God, saying, "The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord." Jesus' reference to Psalm 22 was not only about the pains of His sorrows, but also about His constant trust and praise in God at all times.
This Lent, remember the joy that can only be attained through suffering. It is only by taking up the cross that we shall see Christ for all eternity. It is through this suffering that we meet Christ and know His love. It is through the suffering that we hope for eternal life.
Happy 40 Days of Joy!
