Simply Lent

I've been thinking a lot about the season of Lent as it quickly approaches. On one hand it allows me to rocket launch off into my natural existential angst, which I do so love. On the other hand I wonder if that's a good thing?
But more than that I've been thinking about a particularly Lutheran understanding of Lent this year. Lent really allows us to dwell in the midst of the brokenness of the human condition. In Lent we read about Jesus' journey to Jerusalem and we prepare for the inevitable pain and suffering he will face there. In some ways it reminds us of our own journey in life, the pain and brokenness we all face in our daily lives. In other ways it calls to mind the brokenness that is in us that really sent Jesus on that journey to begin with.
From a Lutheran perspective Lent can be both a time when we allow ourselves to live fully into the human condition and recognize the garbage we live with. But, also Lent is a time when we allow ourselves to look beyond that and hope for the new life that is in the resurrection. I think being Lutheran allows me to see the tension in the season and appreciate the ambiguity. It's not an easy task, dwelling in the ambiguity but for me it feels like the only authentic way to go. We must realize the reality of the human condition that we live in and also must allow for the joy of the resurrection. We must know Good Friday to really know Easter morning.
I like that--it allows me to deal with the life that I experience and allows me to hope for the new life that is to come through Christ.