A Lenten Reflection by Robyn Westrem

Tuesday, March 3 2026

Memories of Lent begin, for me, as a young adult. Away from home in a college town and unafraid of church-sampling, I attended Vespers, Compline, Ash Wednesday and Holy Week services in search of great music. So much was available - free - within walking distance, and I grew to love the smell of old wood, old hymnals, the lingering smoke of incense, and the reverent silences.

My childhood anticipations of Easter included the small cardboard fish-shaped boxes distributed in Sunday School for children’s offerings, which would be collected on Palm Sunday. Filling that box was the most tangible and measurable sacrifice of the church season for me. It was a small way to acknowledge Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Easter music, though, was a constant presence in our house. My dad was a choral music aficionado and recordings of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Handel’s Messiah were played year-round. He was also a fan of pipe organs. The louder, the better. If it was a quality instrument, he had a vinyl recording in his mammoth collection. He taught my brother, sister and me how to listen to music. My mom, a middle-school music teacher, taught us how to play it.

The three of us kids could have been a ready-made string trio, if we had been cooperative. My mom accompanied our violin, viola and cello ensemble at church until we became too grumpy to wrangle as a group. Eventually, though, we were skilled enough to be part of the orchestra in annual performances of the Messiah Part II on a regular basis. Now, we could be part of creating the music that we had heard over the years. It was a way to participate in the season more fully.

Over the decades, I’ve learned to appreciate the way that Lent extends time and demands a specific kind of attention to Jesus’ life and sacrifice and to our own humanity. Lent can provide a structure that interrupts and slows everyday routines. Each year, I learn to listen more carefully to the familiar story of the Passion. And, each year, there is something new.