Today, we enter into the season of Lent. Lent is traditionally a time when people ask themselves how far they are willing to go in order to challenge their own desires. It’s a time to contemplate what it means to be in love and in relationship with God and others.

 

The usual question is, “What will you give up for Lent?” While the usual replies have much to do with food like chocolate or carbs or sugar or other manners of gluttony, the real root of that challenge might simply be “entitlement.” Can we give up feeling “entitled” to have or consume whatever our heart desires no matter what the cost to ourselves and others. This question of course goes way beyond food.

So does the scripture for today, that age-old scripture story that tells about, what we call, our grand “fall” from grace in…