"Living Into Lent" (Donald K. McKim)

TITLE: Living into Lent
AUTHOR: Donald K. KcKim
PUBLISHER: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013, (160 pages).

Lent is here again. The word "Lent" means "fortieth" in Latin. IT is 40 days to Easter, starting from Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, we exclude Sundays in the counting, so Lent concludes with that great Resurrection Sunday. What do we do during these forty days? Some believers fast from something as a constant reminder about Christ's journey to the Cross, how He offered Himself up to do the Father's Will.  Other believers spend more time in prayer or in various spiritual disciplines. The key themes of Lent are prayer, meditation, contemplation, silence, resisting the world, faithfulness, obedience, fasting, sacrifice, etc. One helpful way to observe Lent is to use devotionals to help us through each day. This book is one such devotional. There are several features that make this book stands out.

First, it is biblically referenced. Each theme is centered on the Bible. The author does not flood us with chunks of Bible to overwhelm us. Instead, he takes selected verses and guides us through the Word. Depth is key. As a devotional, it should be simple and focused, rather than to be expounded and analyzed. As a devotional, the Word is used to guide our mind to think deeply of God and to make our hearts bigger for God. McKim does well to give us brief notes without too much explanation, giving readers ample time to pause and to pray.


Second, it adheres to the steps of Jesus, and His spiritual journey to the cross. From Ash Wednesday, we embark on a journey of following Christ, just like He had started on the journey of obeying God's Will. On the first week, we ponder on God through meditation on the Word and on all of God's work. On the second week, we focus on prayer and how Jesus Himself dedicated long hours to prayer to seek the Father's will. The third week demonstrates the fruit of prayer, which is love. The Fifth and sixth weeks are about gratitude and enacting respectively. Thankful to God for all He had done for us, we boldly proclaim the testimony of God's grace after the previous weeks of inner work. Then comes Holy Week where we experience the lows of the crucifixion and the highs of the Resurrection.

Third, it enables us to observe Lent not only as individuals but also as a group. The sessions for group prayer and meditation helps the facilitator to easily lead groups in the Lenten exercises. The Church is always about community. For many of us, our modern lifestyle has made us gather only once a week. We work six days as individuals and only on the Lord's day we gather as a community. Having intentional time together makes Lent observance even more special.

This devotional may be simple to read, but the practices could take us deeper beyond what we read on the surface. What is valuable is the framework taught in the book. We have a standard format to follow:

• Pray;
• Read
• Reflect
• Consider
• Action Steps.

A word of advice. Do not see these steps too rigidly. Take it as it comes. Spend more time on either of them without forcing ourselves to rush through each step. After a stone is thrown into a pond, creating ripples all around, let the ripples settle, and slowly realize that God is still in charge. Be still and know that the LORD is God.

Donald K. McKim is former Academic Dean and Professor of Theology at Memphis Theological Seminary. He is author or editor of numerous books, including Moments with Martin Luther: 95 Daily Devotions and Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterians Answers, Revised Edition.

Rating: 4.25 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Westminster John Knox Press and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.