Didn't I just put away the Christmas decorations?
Forget about the Christmas cards I never sent. I said to myself that I would get them out during The Epiphany. Truth be told, I still have a few Christmas presents that never got delivered.
And here I stand, at the brink of Lent. Not ready, am I. Not at all ready.
Even so, it is almost here.
Before we get to "Dust to dust, ashes to ashes," it seems a very normal impulse to "Party like it's 2009." Empty the larders and the pantry shelves. Eat pancakes and bacon until we can't move from our chairs. Giggle and laugh as we race the burned pancakes from one end of the parish hall to the other.
We are such strange creatures, we humans. Dust balls, breathing. Living. Wildly celebrating life in the face of impending doom and gloom. A riot of color - purple, green, gold, white - in the midst of ash gray.
It seems so outrageous and ridiculous. To be so extravagantly wasteful. You know. Like God's love for us.
Yes, let us prepare our hearts and minds for a 'Holy Lent'. Let us consider our own mortality. The limits of our time here on this side of Paradise. Let us, for a season, meditate on the fragility of our little human lives. Let us do these things, being mindful of the greatness of God.
Before that, let us party on, friends.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
And, just to get you in the mood, here's a little something from Marc Broussard - a kid from NOLA whose song will be, for me, the anthem of Fat Tuesday and the funky sound of a Holy Lent.
Take me home, Marc. I been goin' down the road, goin' nowhere, guitar packed in a trunk. I have strayed from the water. Take me home.
For an even better and more complete version of this song, check it out here. Unfortunately, the embedding mechanism has been disabled. ;~(
Aggh! The synchronicity of the liturgical calendar is just tooooo creepy sometimes. I am running around putting hot sauce on everything that is edible, since that is what I give up, and just posted a prayer over at my place that is full of "impending Lent."
ReplyDeleteAs much as I miss my hot sauce for 40 days every year, I realize how innately symbolic it is. My personal "desire for spice in life" is both my angel and my devil!
Sometimes, angels and demons are just flip sides of the same coin. Well, for me at least.
ReplyDeleteVery close to something I often say...
ReplyDelete"My best qualities and my worst faults sprout from the same seed."