God and Popcorn

It's officially Lent. Some of us decide to give something up we like, do something extra we would not typically do, or both. In the past, I've tended towards the giving up instead of the doing more (which, by the way, I think is easier--it's harder for me to forge good habits than to temporarily suspend not-so-good habits). I've given up TV, beer, chocolate, caffeine, and popcorn in recent years. The hardest of all? Popcorn.

I'm not kidding. I love popcorn. It is my favorite food. Not just snack food--but food food. I will eat popcorn for dinner if my kids are not home (because a good mother doesn't eat snack food for dinner, I guess). I like it with butter, with grated parmesan cheese, or with salt alone, and I make a crazy delicious version with bacon bits, cayenne pepper, and fried onions.

And I love to eat it with a cold beer while watching college basketball. So, I also gave up beer.  But not basketball (as I write this, I am watching the Maryland-Duke game on ESPN).  Sorry, but it's almost March.

So why do we do this? Someone asked me once why "people into Jesus" made behavioral changes during the 40 days before Easter. Well, sometimes I've done it because "that's what Catholics do," along with no meat on certain days during Lent and fasting on others. I have done it to comply with rules, and if I am honest, there were times when that was the only reason. But, of course, what's the point of that? Rules that exist simply for their own sake are empty. And rules that exist to show only how "holy" we are are Pharisaical.

In the past few years, I've attempted to make it more about Jesus. By missing something I like, it is a small reminder (very, very small) of the great sacrifice He made for me. Anything that focuses me more on Him and less on myself is definitely a good habit.

We are now in a season of penance, reflection, and preparation. As silly as it sounds, I have been reflecting on how I would like to prepare a delicious a bowl of buttered popcorn for myself. But if I eat it, I'll have to go to Penance (just kidding). No, by not eating it, I can focus in a physical way on Christ's very physical sacrifice. It's small, yes, but I'm small--I'm just a person, and God doesn't ask that I fast for 40 days as Christ did. He asks only that I focus on his Son.

Focus, Focus, Focus.

I'm hungry.