Lent
I've never been a big fan of the season of Lent. I've disliked it so long, I'm not even sure what started me off. Among other things: I don't like how self-righteous people treat Ash Wednesday in the New Orleans area. They act like it's the final victory bell in the fight between "holier-than-thou" and "bound-for-hell". I'm a New Orleanian who believe that the dancing, generosity, and tolerance of Mardi Gras is a really good model for the Kingdom of Heaven, and I don't like it to be just "cut off" at midnight on Wednesday. A man my father knew used to give up alcohol for lent. However, since wine is drunk in the Bible, he'd down two or three glasses at lunch every day. Lent seems to me to be a time for hypocrites to thrive. In my experience, Joy is a precious commodity. I don't think it wise for Christians to stop praying for it, looking for it, waiting for it, and working for it for 40 days out of 365. And it seems t...