This Easter season has been different for me. I have stepped out of the norm and done some things that are traditional in other denominations but not for Baptists.

First of all, I decided to observe Lent. Kathryn had told me that she observed it a couple of different times and she goes to a church in Kansas that observes it. And then I saw on Facebook that Melissa Tibbs was saying goodbye to all of us because she was giving up Facebook for Lent. That’s when I decided to try it.

For those of you who need an explanation of Lent here is a good one I found online:
“Lent is the season of the Christian year where believers examine their own humanity and ways they separate themselves from God (sin) to prepare for Jesus' death and resurrection at Easter.
Lent lasts for forty days, reflective of the forty days Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). As Christians enter their own symbolic wilderness during Lent, they remember their own humanity, vulnerable to temptation, just like Jesus in the wilderness.”

Now I considered what to give up, to fast from. There were some things I thought of that I knew it would be no use to try because I would fail. Things like chocolate, TV, all drinks except water, Facebook. In the end I decided to give up all carbonated drinks. I know it seems so small, but I wanted something I could stick with.

Here’s what I learned: Keeping even this small commitment was hard. I messed up a couple of times, once by accident (I bought flavored water and found out when I drank it, it was carbonated); a couple of times I bent the rules and drank some that had gone flat (see how you can think in warped ways?). So if I can have trouble with just this one little thing, it makes me realize the impossibility of my ever being good enough to face God. I am without hope, aside from the mercy and grace of God in Christ Jesus.

And even though you cannot even remotely call not drinking carbonated drinks suffering, every time I had a pang of desire for one, and felt the “pain” of not getting one, it reminded me of Jesus’ suffering. And I am thankful for that reminder.

The second thing I did differently this season was to attend the Maundy Thursday service at First Baptist. Maundy comes from the Latin and means “mandate.” During the Last Supper, Jesus gave the mandate for the believers to love and serve one another and set the example by washing their feet.

During this service, which was very somber, we remembered Christ’s death for us. It was a time of quiet reflection. The songs added to the mood. And then we took communion together. It was very moving. I think we often set aside reflecting on the suffering and death of Christ to focus on the glory of the resurrection. But setting aside the death and suffering diminishes the glory of the resurrection. Any time you can make an extreme contrast, the impact is magnified.

I think the Protestant church has set aside many rituals as a reaction against the misuses of them in many churches. I am here to say that they have great meaning if they are thought of correctly and I am thankful for the meaning they have had in my life during this Easter season.