Lent…MARCH MADNESS!
The way of the cross…THE ROAD TO THE FINAL FOUR!
Not everyone experiences this dissonance – we’re not all basketball fans. But the contradiction between the solemnity of Lent and the mania surrounding the college basketball tournament is certainly a parable of the difficulty of living the Christian faith in a secular culture. During Lent, I’ve got a bracket in one hand and a Bible in the other.
Maybe in some other year I’d be able to contemplate the possibility of giving up basketball for Lent. But when the local college team is poised to make a legitimate run at the championship, well, I plead my human frailty. I could also – somewhat disingenuously – plead some scripture, such as the story of the Pharisees criticizing Jesus for not requiring his disciples to fast at the appropriate time. But the healthiest thing for me to do is simply admit that, as a disciple of Christ, I live in the world even as I am not of the world, and I am always maintaining a delicate balance between my heavenly and earthly citizenships.
