Just as the world as we know it seems to be burning down around us, we are called to pause for these next several weeks in reflection and preparation of Easter, for Christ’s resurrection. Could we say the pinnacle of our faith calendar?

Already expected to be a somber time in which Christians take time to reflect on the events that led up to Jesus’ death, ask for forgiveness, practice self-control, be reminded of our mortality, imitate Christ’s sacrifices through our own and also to give alms, this year Lent is an excellent opportunity for us also to put the larger happenings in society into context.

After all, it’s hard to accuse others of being unchristlike when we understand how we ourselves are complicit in Christ’s crucifixion; and easier to offer others forgiveness when we’re seeking forgiveness ourselves; and maybe civil dialogue is more possible if we’re exerting our own self-control while our neighbors do the same; and by giving to others, through time or treasures, maybe we can be reminded of just how fortunate we are, and thus our worldviews may be shifted.

And finally — and this is a biggie — if we confront our own mortality, sometimes the more trivial matters that we find dividing us seem to melt away.

Trust me: As clergy, one of the most sobering tasks we engage in is to smudge a person’s forehead, while looking them in the eyes and telling them they are going to die. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons we do so is to help faithful people reorient their priorities. And our current climate seems as good of a time as any to do so.

I recognize I run the risk of alienating those who are angry across the spectrum by asking them to focus on Lent rather than the sabre rattling. In fact, I too recently preached a sermon on how some days I feel it difficult to love whom I perceive as enemies of my vulnerable neighbors. And so I do understand the temptation to want to allow the anger to take over.

Righteous anger can be intoxicating, can’t it!

But, at the end of the day, no one wins in a game of mutually assured destruction.

Friends, I’m not saying there aren’t very worrying developments that shouldn’t be grieved this Lent, but all of us chasing round with pitchforks and torches all the time will only lead to more and more harm.

Maybe this Lent it would be healthier rather to reflect on Jesus’ death, ask for forgiveness, practice self-control, contemplate our own mortality, sacrifice like Jesus and to give wherever and however we can. Amen.

Devlyn Brooks is the CEO of Churches United in Moorhead, Minn., and an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minn. He blogs about faith at findingfaithin.com, and can be reached at devlynbrooks@gmail.com.