There is a subtle notion, sometimes not so subtle, that Lent is supposed to be a heavy time, a time, we must be hard on ourselves (my gosh, just giving up chocolate is beyond any semblance of reasonable expectation, next they will come for my red wine!). 

     In our Prayer Book, there are two options for Eucharistic Prefaces during Lent.  One which speaks of Jesus overcoming all temptation to sin and thus our ability, by his grace to triumph over evil, living no longer for ourselves alone, but for the one who laid his life down for us.  There is nothing wrong with this and the world would benefit greatly if we truly lived moment by moment not for ourselves only.  The second bids us to cleanse our hearts (fervent in prayer, in works of mercy and renewed by Word and Sacraments) and prepare with joy for the Paschal feast that we may come to the fullness of grace prepared for us.  I love the invitation of this one, the reminder that this season is about preparing with joy for a festival.

     Lent is about lightness.  It is about laying down the things that burden and choke off life.  It is about preparing for a feast of deep joy.  Any discipline we take on is about bringing light and peace into our lives.

     That is where the snow day comes in.  It has a taste of life in God- any 'should, ought, have to do' gets postponed.  We get to decide from a blank slate free from the above, unburdened by any outside expectations we might have.  I think that is where God invites us to live every day; from a place of joy, from a place of contentment, from an inner place of decision.  This is not simply a place free from work or a place free from any anxiety or difficulty.  It is a place where amid anxiety and difficulty, we find ourselves with the sense of freedom that is not about being irresponsible, but is about knowing with whom we are in relationship and what makes those relationships deep.

     The snow is melting and the pace of our lives is returning.  And in the glimpse of quiet and freedom, may we find the glimpse of what this season is preparing us for: life, lightness, joy.

Todd Donatelli