Ashley Makar does community outreach for IRIS (Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services). Her writing has appeared in Tablet, In the Fray, the Washington Post, and Killing the Buddha, where she is a contributing editor.

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Lent Without Borders

by Ashley Makar 03-08-2019
Saying No to Busyness and Yes to Kingdom Work

Ryan M. Bolton / Shutterstock

Many privileged American Christians like me are revving up our metaphors of going to the desert with Jesus for 40 days. We’re “fasting” from Facebook, sugar, or alcohol, and taking on a new spiritual practice. But it feels like more of a scandal of disparity this year: Curling up in my cozy home with Lenten meditations on the wilderness while people try to survive crossing literal deserts; not having that glass of wine at dinner while people die of dehydration.