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I’m a latecomer to Lent. It wasn’t until I joined Sojourners in my first role as senior political director in 2004 that I learned from my Catholic colleagues the significance of this 40-day liturgical season in which we spiritually travel with Jesus through his fasting in the desert. In 2021, this time of reflection — so often marked by what we give up — comes amid what already feels like a dark, cold, and perilous winter.
Many of us are still giving up the ability to worship together in person. A virus that we prayed would be quickly vanquished has become a much more permanent fixture in our lives, causing so much loss and hardship. In the Bay Area and elsewhere, we've seen an alarming surge of xenophobic violence against Asian Americans in recent weeks that has left one person dead and many more injured. Since the onset of the COVID pandemic in the U.S. a year ago, the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council has documented nearly 3,000 incidents of anti-Asian hate across 47 states and the District of Columbia. In Texas and northern Mexico, millions have not had power for days as a result of unprecedented stress on the power grid due to severe cold that the region almost never experiences. Scientists have long warned us that climate change is responsible for more extreme weather events, and this storm is another sobering example.
… In light of these trying and extraordinary times, I asked a handful of colleagues and pastors to share their own reflections on how we can best enter into this Lenten season and what we can learn from a time typically marked by prayer, fasting, repentance, and self-examination.
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