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b'Clay has reached the point that Lent has lost its luster and suggest that for Lent we give up Lent or least what it has become.\\nIt isn\\u2019t that the wilderness and temptation aren\\u2019t rich themes to explore but in their frequent reoccurrence within a given year and annually, saying something that hasn\\u2019t been said countless times before is nearly impossible.\\xa0The temptation is to just get the sermon done.\\xa0Say the predictable things the church has always said about how being miserable, sinful beings we need to be purified.\\xa0We do it by paying the price for our fallen state with fasting and confession.\\xa0The implied message being:\\xa0Easter won\\u2019t be any fun unless we suffer first. Sure the congregation will tune out as soon as they realize they have heard this sermon before, but I will have done my priestly duty and extolled the importance of Lent to being good Christians.\\n\\xa0\\nI\\u2019m sorry I just can\\u2019t do it any more.\\xa0Lent has lost its luster.\\xa0I only need to point to an interview of Vice President Biden on Ash Wednesday this week.\\xa0The interviewer, who later confessed to being Catholic, asked if the black smudge on his forehead was a bruise. \\n\\nText and video links available at www.stmatthews.org.nz.'