A real Lenten sacrifice

Give anything up for Lent?

I did. In fact, I chose to give up several things. And not all of them will be easy to sacrifice for these 40 days.

But the hardest thing about this year's Lent is what I did not choose to give up.

At my church on the Sunday before Lent, our associate pastor told us that she expected the entire church to fast during the noon hour on Fridays, spending the time in prayer and giving the lunch money we save to the poor.

This is a reasonable sacrifice. It is one that I have (so far) been successful at keeping. What makes it remarkable is not the thing in itself, but the way it was presented to the church.

We were not asked whether we thought fasting would be an appropriate Lenten observance. Instead, we were simply told what to do.

I write about this experience in my column this week. As Americans, we worship at the altar of individual choice. We instinctively recoil at any suggestion that someone else knows better than we do the choices we should make for our lives. And perhaps the most difficult thing we can ever do is accept the command of another person with complete obedience.

For all these reasons, I think the most difficult thing for us to sacrifice is our choice. And so, in a strange way, I'm really grateful to my pastor that she told me what to give up for Lent. By expecting our obedience, she is helping us to understand what life in the Christian community is about. And she is helping us understand what discipleship is about as well, for as disciples we follow one who issues commands rather than offers suggestions.