With Lent being a season traditionally associated with giving something up as we try to identify with the suffering that Jesus experienced on the cross, it can sometimes feel like a chore rather than something we look forward to.
A few years ago, I had a mini revelation that got me thinking about Lent in a whole new way. It has to do with the biblical concept of shalom. It’s a multifaceted Hebrew word for ‘peace’ that is rooted in the word ‘shaleim’, which means completion. What does completion have to do with Lent, you ask? Right before His last breath on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The purpose of the cross was for us to live in a reconciled state, or right relationship, with God the Father. Before Jesus’ death, humanity lived in a state of separation from God, and the only path to righteousness was to perform rituals and have priests make intercession. But when Jesus died, the work of reconciliation was complete, and we were gifted the opportunity to live in a state of shalom or wholeness with God.
Jesus generously gave His life for us so that we might have abundant life for eternity. That gift inspires us to ‘pay it forward’ and show generosity to others in a way that brings a little bit of God’s kingdom into their lives.
This is why Stewardship is relaunching a campaign called 40 Acts – daily devotionals and ideas for generous acts to perform during the 40 days of Lent. We are encouraging people to get involved and come up with creative, tangible ways to extend generosity to the people around them – including strangers.
Lindy, a previous 40 Acts participant, had never gone out of her way to help a stranger before. But during a walk in the park one day, she encountered a lady struggling to push a bike with a flat tyre. She was also walking with a crutch, making the task even more onerous.
She’d resolved to find ways of extending generosity to others, Lindy asked if she could give the lady a ride to wherever she was going. Even though the lady said she was fine and didn’t need any help, Lindy persisted and ended up waiting with her at the repair shop. It turns out that this woman had recently come out of a refuge with her two children, and this bike was her son’s only mode of transportation to get to work. She’d also never experienced kindness from a stranger like this before.
So much of our generosity is in the form of digital giving, whether it be to our local churches or our favourite charities or missionaries we support, and it can all just be numbers in a system. That’s not to say that these gifts don’t ever feel sacrificial.
For those of us on a tight budget, the money we allocate towards charitable giving is a noticeable deduction from our disposable income. But many of us adjust quickly and probably stop thinking about it – it’s become so automated that it can actually require effort to stay connected to our giving, emotionally or otherwise. That’s why doing something tangible can be so great.
Spending the Lenten season doing tangibly generous things for people could be a good way to reset and renew our attitude towards generosity. And it’s a way to contemplate how we can pursue shalom in environments where peace and wholeness are lacking. It pushes us to be just a little more uncomfortable. It encourages us to employ our creativity and resourcefulness. It forces us to depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance, and it makes us alert to recognise those “divine appointments” wherever and however they occur.
If you’re reading this and you’re already feeling stressed because, like me, you’re an introvert, and you don’t love to seek out spontaneous interactions with strangers, maybe team up with a friend and do things together. Don’t feel you have to come up with super creative ideas. Sometimes the simplest act makes the deepest impact.
We can’t all change the world, but we can all change one person’s day by creating space for God’s presence to transform and renew. If you want to take part in this year’s 40 Acts, sign up today at stewardship.org.uk/40-acts-sign-up.
