A Grown-Up Lent: When Giving Up Chocolate Isn't Enough

It’s a popular question: What did you give up for Lent? Chocolate? Red meat? Facebook? Watching TV? Making a decision to cut out these non-essentials is admirable, but alone, giving up chocolate doesn’t get to the heart of the Lent. The ­lessons offered by Jesus in the parables offer a way forward. Episcopal priest Joanna Leiserson puts these parables into a modern context and develops new models of spiritual practices and engagement to bring us into a deeper relationship with God—and with our friends, neighbors, and communities.