We all know folk who practice a “CME” faith, showing up at church only on the “Big Three” Black holy days – Christmas, Mother’s Day and Easter.
But like anything and everything in life, religion, or rather, one’s spiritual development, is not about one day or a singular “magical” moment. It’s about the process – a consistent commitment to getting a little better today than you were yesterday.
The season of Lent is the perfect example of this. Most people, Christians included, are quite familiar with Easter and its longstanding traditions (the clothes, the candy, the family meals after church). But few realize that Easter is the last day of an entire holy season that gets little to no love (or participation) from most Black Christians. Lent is the spiritual season of preparation and process to open participants to whatever “resurrection” they need in their lives.
Yes, the Easter resurrection is not merely about some event that happened over 2,000 years ago, as experienced by the Black Messiah. It’s about us today accessing the resurrection of hope, vision, faith, community, self-determination, etc., that we need right now.
But like anything we seek to achieve or accomplish, it ain’t happening if we’re not willing to engage in “the process” that will deliver us to our desired designation. Ask any championship-winning sports team, academic initiative or business endeavor. They will all tell you that there’s no hoisting of the trophy, making the grade or dominating market share without their members all buying into the grueling daily processes that made success possible.
That’s why Blackfolk in 2025 need the season of Lent now more than ever. If we want to emerge from this current social/political onslaught of anti-Blackness that seeks to bury us in a mass grave dug by white nationalist politicians, billionaires and cult followers, we need a resurrection of empowerment. But again, nothing worth achieving comes without engaging in a process.
So, what is it about the processes offered by the season of Lent that can lead Blackfolk to the resurrection we need? I’m glad you asked.
Inward focus
Lent empowers Black people by challenging us to look inwardly (not outwardly at others) to see where we fall short of being our best selves.
The word “Lent” literally means “spring.” And as is customary with that season, Lent is about participants engaging in a spiritual spring cleaning. Lent is that season when we stop focusing on what others are doing or aren’t doing, and focus on ourselves. We courageously and honestly look inward and face what actions we have failed to do that God and our people need us to do. What actions have we engaged in that keep us from being our best and full divine selves? Lent is all about pointing the finger only at ourselves so we can identify those areas of our lives we need to clean up. And that move to take personal responsibility for your growth is empowering in and of itself.
Game-planning
Additionally, Lent empowers Black people by calling us to make specific game plans so we can each move to better reflect the best of who we are (potentials, skills, ideas, etc). In other words, Lent is about more than listing all the ways you’ve fallen short and staying in that pitiful place of shame and regret. Lent is supposed to be about identifying those areas so you can then engage in processes and practices that move you to the growth you desire.
So, in a very real sense, Lent is about re-envisioning the person you want to be, the divine being God created you to be and the change agent Black people need you to be. Then, it’s about you creating your game plan to make it happen. It’s about you deciding which acts of faith (actions and practices) you need to engage in to allow the God in you to be resurrected.
Those acts of faith can take the shape of several things, including service to your congregation or the greater community; increased giving of your time, talents and treasures; and/or practicing with more consistency the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, meditation, movements, etc.).
But the main thing here is you’re not stuck wallowing in “shame;” you’re planning your resurrection process.
Actions over intentions
Lent empowers Black people by charging us to take actions to make ourselves and our world better rather than simply waiting for some outside force to do for us what God gave us the power to do for ourselves. In other words, Lent is about moving from good ideas and good intentions to good actions.
Lent is about working on your resurrection plan. If you plan to volunteer with a particular congregational ministry or to serve as a mentor at a local school, Lent is the time to implement that plan. Your plan may involve investing more of your time into prayer, Bible study, meditation or daily positive affirmations. Cool. Do it. The power of any process is not merely thinking about it or intending to do it; it’s actually doing the darn things.
Divine human effort
Finally, Lent empowers Black people by grounding us in our spiritual roots. Lent reminds us that when at our best, we’ve always utilized spiritual guidance in combination with our human effort to create change. Lent reminds us that “faith without works” is not only dead, it’s quite dead (James 2:26). Lent also reminds us of the words Jesus shared with his people; words, for whatever reason, are rarely shared in the Black church – “What I can do, you can do, and even greater things shall you do” (John 14:12). That’s what Jesus expected of his followers. So, why are we, 2,000 years later, still expecting Jesus to do for us, what Jesus said we have the power to do for ourselves?
Amen, somebody. Let’s have a fully engaged, empowering and resurrecting Lent.
