And so, once again, we will follow the ancient custom tomorrow and have ourselves marked with the Sign of the Cross in ashes.  We will remind ourselves of the inevitability of our own death, but silently assert our faith in the salvation that has destroyed death.  We will put on Christ (Gal 3:27) in a very real and visible way.

I have never been good at Lent.  I am very bad at fasting (partly for health reasons), nor am I particularly faithful to the old tradition of giving things up for Lent as a spiritual sacrifice.

But this year I want Lent to be different.  For some reason, the passion of Christ has been very much on my mind in my daily recollection and prayer.  It seems very real and present to me.  Not that I’ve been suffering, but the quiet, uncomfortable spiritual voice within me (thanks, Guardian Angel!) has been steadily leading me to Calvary.

So, this Lent, I’ve decided to follow that impulse, and set my foot on the road to the tomb.   I’ll do a few practical things to help me along that way — I’m going to try to pray the Divine Office this Lent, and I will be re-reading (for the first time in many years) the great spiritual classic, The Imitation of Christ.

But, more importantly, I’m going to try to orient my heart, mind and soul to towards the tomb, to get myself ready to be buried with Jesus, so that I may emerge on the other end with him.  I want to be with St. Paul, who wrote,

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Rom 6:4)

And so, my Lent will begin tomorrow.  I will present myself to be marked with the sign of life, made with the material of death.  I will take on my spiritual shroud, and begin the slow walk to the tomb.

Bury me with Christ, O Lord, that I may walk with him in the newness of life.

I’ve been teaching a class in Church history lately (one of the reason my blogging has been infrequent — lots of work!).  It’s led me to think a lot about the way the early Christians lived, and how they interacted with the world.

In particular, I’ve been fascinated by accounts of the early martyrs.  Remember, the word “martyr” means “witness” in Greek.  What strikes me is not just the heroism and horror of the stories, but of the way that the martyrs were regarded by their fellow Christians.  These were the superheroes of the early Church, people who were revered and who were held up as models to follow.  Even now, you can’t read the accounts of great early saints like Perpetua and Felicity, Agatha, or Cyprian without being moved by their willingness to put their Christian faith on the line.

Nor can you read them without seeing the effect on others.  In the ancient account of the martyrdom of Cyprian, after he was condemned to death, other Christians came forward to ask to be beheaded along with him.  That’s how powerful was the witness of that great bishop.  The sufferings of the martyrs were seen by the ancients as the “seed” of new Christians, to use the phrase of the theologian Tertullian.

Here in America, it’s easy for us to be complacent about our faith.  None of us will likely ever be asked to suffer significantly for out faith.  In other nations, of course, that’s not the case — just ask any of our Indian, Nigerian or Vietnamese priests about that, and they will tell you stories that would curl your hair.

But there are still many, many opportunities to give public witness to our faith.  People notice when Christians profess their faith boldly, and people find it attractive when we demonstrate our faith by the love in our lives.  Two recent examples drove this point home for me.

First was the “controversial” Superbowl ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mom.  Pre-Superbowl buzz said that the ad was supposed to be a big deal because of its pro-life message, and in that respect it was a bit of a disappointment.  It was pretty bland and indirect in promoting the cause of human life.  But it was an excellent message for another reason — here were two professed Christians, talking about and demonstrating their love for each other.  A great witness to what Christian faith means in everyday life.

The other was the story on Oprah’s show about the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.  The reporter and film crew went into the convent to get a glimpse of the lives of these remarkable young women, and the result was extraordinary.  Here were a group of joyful, smart, and dedicated Christian women who had dedicated their lives to serve the Lord and others.  The love they have for God and His people radiated from their faces, and nobody could fail to see it.  Again, a great witness to the way Christians live.

All too often, Christians are seen in our culture as narrow, judgmental scolds.  But the reality, as shown by these public witnesses, is quite different.  True Christian witness is powerful and attractive, precisely because it shows people how love is at the heart of the lives of faithful people.

Tertullian, living in a time of persecution in the Second Century, saw this clearly.  He once wrote to a Roman official to explain how Christians lived, in order to debunk some of the myths and rumors that were making the rounds at that time.  He remarked about how the pagans were astonished by the way Christians lived: “Look, they say, how they love one another and how they are ready to die for each other.”

That’s the way the ancient world looked upon the martyr/witnesses.  And we should all make sure that that’s the way our world looks at us.  If they fail to remark on how we love one another, what does that say about what kind of witness I am?