Many in the Christian faith begin the observance of Lent this week. Lent commemorates the forty days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Lent was not part of my childhood church tradition, so I’m still learning about it. This past Sunday, during the children’s time in the worship service, we “boxed up” our alleluias. In our church we will not sing any songs with that praise word in it until the glorious Easter morning.

I thought about the periods of “boxing up” that have occurred in the Christian faith from the time of the first Easter. The influence of Christians in the world has waxed and waned throughout the centuries, depending on how well those who called themselves by Christ’s name lived up to his teachings. At the present time, in the countries that made up the old Christendom, we are in a period of retreat. We have lost influence. Our alleluias are boxed up for a time.

How long will it be until we can let our alleluias out of the box again?  That depends on how Christlike we choose to be in this present time.