A WORD ABOUT A-WORDS IN LENT
“Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent.” Opening prayer for Ash Wednesday
“I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me………………..The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:3,18
I have a friend who recently became the priest for an English-speaking Episcopal Church in Germany. On the last Sunday in the “Let my light shine” season of Epiphany, just before the beginning of the solemn and serious season of Lent, he rose to introduce the final hymn of the day. He exhorted his flock to sing “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” with extra fervor since it would be the last opportunity to utter the word “Alleluia!” until Easter, some forty days away. There was a smattering of unanticipated giggles before the organ struck the first chords and the congregation joyfully engaged in a fortissimo and soul-stirring rendition of “Alleluia! Sing to Jesus!” After the dismissal a parishioner reported the reason for the smiling faces and assorted chuckles after the priest’s exhortation. A previous priest had asked the children of the congregation just a few years prior, on the very same Sunday, hoping to coax an equally enthusiastic and final celebratory “Alleluia!” out of them: “Children – what is the one word we never say during Lent – it starts with an “A”? One little boy shouted out, with a fervor usually reserved for “Alleluia!” – and an insight more Lenten than Easter – “ASSHOLE!” While I can’t say “Alleluia!” I will say “AMEN!”
There are actually TWO words we should avoid saying in the season of Lent. The first is indeed “Alleluia!” an exclamation of joyful praise, originally from the psalms and meaning “Praise Yah!” (Yah being the first three letters of the Hebrew name for God – Yahweh). The spiritual life is not meant to have a perpetual smile plastered across our faces. To have faith is to experience joy and sadness, overt exuberant praise as well as introverted soul-searching melancholy. What goes up should occasionally come down. Our connection with God should sometimes bring us back down to terra firma, where we live and move and love and lose and grieve and grow. We sometimes have to go inward before we can resume the journey upward. Down time is the preparation we need for up time. A lack of celebration in Lent need not be depressing and depleting, but renewing and empowering. From insight comes inspiration. From penitence comes praise. Introspection can lead us to a more powerful expression, contemplation to a more heartfelt celebration, silence to a more profound “Alleluia”!
But “Alleluia!” is not the only A-word to avoid during these forty days of more subtle subterranean exploration. “Asshole” is another one to refrain from uttering, whether directed toward ourselves or anyone else. One of the greatest temptations of Lent, and every other season, is to punish ourselves beyond the point of return, or to simply hoist the blame for our own failings on some other person, washing our hands of implication. “Oh, I may be a little cheeky, but at least I’m not like that asshole in the next house/office/pew. I may make an “honest mistake” from time to time, but my neighbor is a notorious sinner who should find herself in the hands of an angry God! That will teach them!” Actually, Lent is the opportunity to teach – ME. It is the season in which I should look no further than my own motives, desires, and actions, to begin to understand rather than pass judgment. Lent is the time to get “down and dirty” within ourselves, not to pass off our imperfections as the impetus of others. “The devil” did not make you do it any more than any other A-hole did.
Giving up these two words for Lent allows us to go deeper within ourselves. We can take a break from both the irrational exuberance that denies the not-yet state of our affairs, and the blasphemy of playing the blame game with others. In giving up these two words/ideas/ways out – we just may observe a more holy Lent this time around.
Toward that end, I say one last time with great anticipation: “Alleluia!” Oh, and one other A-word…AMEN.
