Worship is primarily a response to God’s initiative to reach out to us and be with us. The place we worship belongs to God and the words we use are inspired by God. Even though we write prayers, read prayers, follow rubrics, do rituals and seek God, it is God who is primary and all important.
The moment we lose focus of God, the worship ends up
being a human initiative with no contact with God. The disconnection with God
also leads us to worshipping idols and pictures and following certain
superstitions. This is different from icons which point to God or God’s saints,
and rituals which strengthen the symbols which talk about and lead to God.
Lent should also lead to God and draw us closer to
God. Any lent and fasting without God are a superstition. Only God should be
worshipped and any other worship is forbidden. That is why we should distance ourselves
from money, fame, recognition and power.
The devil is ever on the look out to tempt and
distract us. The means of distraction are subtle and not so subtle notions of
power, attractions and seats and posts. Temptations are bound to increase during
lent and fasting because making us fall is deeply satisfying to the devil. As
we try to grow closer to God, the devil tries to pull us away from God and
instead pulls us towards him.
In St. Luke 4:7, the devil tells Jesus, “If you, then,
will worship me, it will all be yours.” The it here is the authority to all the
kingdoms of the world. The devil is tempting Jesus himself and trying to pull
Jesus towards him. This is when in verse 8, Jesus answers, “Worship the Lord
your God, and serve only him.”
This is the essence of lent. Not to ask for power,
authority, seats, fame and money. But to worship God and to serve God only. Lent
is not about us but about God who has created us, who has come for us and who
cares about us. Serving God is what lent means. Amen.
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