Have you ever heard of Lent? Did you think someone was talking about the fluff in their dryer vent or the dust bunny in their belly button?
Growing up in the Methodist church, I had heard of Lent. I vaguely understood it to be a ritual observed before Easter. After several decades in the Baptist church, Lent became a forgotten concept. As we approach this year’s Easter season, various Christian denominations are advertising their Lent services.
I am curious. Is Lent something I should be observing? Is the Lent season something that is helpful to modern Christians? I have decided to find out.
What is Lent?
Lent is a season that begins 40 days before Easter to encourage believers to repent of sin. It is based on the philosophy of “memento mori”, a Latin phrase meaning remember death. Believers are encouraged by the words of a minister to “Remember that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.” The number 40 is a biblical remembrance of 40 days and nights of rain during the Great Flood (Gen 7:4), the 40 days of Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex 24:18), and more importantly, the 40 days Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness in preparation for ministry (Matt 4:1-11).
Historians believe that the 40 day fast before Easter began before the Council of Nicea AD 325. It was mainly a time for new converts to the Christian faith to publicly show their repentance as they began their new walk of life in Christ. Irenaeus (c. 130-202) mentioned in one of his letters that disagreement about the number of days observed before Easter began in the time of his forefathers. Irenaeus was a third generation Christian, indicating that the pre-Easter observance of Lent began in the first days of Christianity.
Observance of Lent practices has changed over the centuries. In early church history, believers fasted and prayed for forty days wearing sackcloth, seeking God’s forgiveness. In AD 601, Pope Gregory instituted the practice of marking a believer’s forehead with ashes in the shape of a cross. Today, this practice is known as Ash Wednesday. In the Old Testament, ashes symbolized mourning, mortality, and penance; i.e. Mordecai (Esther 4:1), Job 42:6, Jonah 3:5-6.
Lent in Today’s World
Lent is observed in modern Christian faith communities by the Catholic, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and other Protestant denominations. Though the timing varies slightly, the focus of the practice is to seek the Lord in prayer, immerse the spirit in the Scriptures, and fast as an act of self-discipline and repentance. This practice is intended to prepare the believer to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus on Easter morning.
If you are from the South, you may associate the beginning of Lent with the celebration of Fat Tuesday, otherwise known as Mardi Gras. This was a day when all of the fat in the house was to be used up before the beginning of the Lent season. The giving up of fat in the daily diet was traditionally part of the fasting that began on Ash Wednesday.
This year (2024) Ash Wednesday falls on Valentine’s Day, February 14. The ashes used to mark the forehead are by tradition derived from burning the palm leaves from the year before that were used to commemorate the Triumphal Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. Both fasting and ashes have roots in biblical tradition and remind worshippers that repentance of sin is an important aspect of the Christian spiritual life.
Is Lent a Helpful Tradition?
As with any religious tradition or ritual, whether or not it is meaningful will depend on what you personally believe. Any repeated behavior can easily become mindless, empty ritual if we are not careful. Do you pray because you feel like you are supposed to or because you believe God is listening? Do you attend church on the weekend because it honors God or because it’s an indoctrinated behavior that makes you feel guilty if you don’t attend? Empty, mindless ritual or helpful, meaningful observance depends entirely on the state of the heart that is practicing the behavior.
I don’t know if it will positively affect my spiritual life to walk around on Ash Wednesday with ashes on my forehead. But I believe a time of fasting and focused prayer of repentance is a good thing. Preparation to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead will make Easter morning a mindful, deliberate act of worship. Perhaps the practice of Ash Wednesday also helps to publicly confess a shared faith. When you see someone else wearing an ash cross on their forehead, you know that they share a belief in the risen Lord.
Another thought I have is that I am unsure that the practice of Lent and Ash Wednesday won’t help me worship the Lord and prepare for a meaningful Easter celebration. How do I know if a practice is helpful or not if I’ve never tried it? I definitely would not mock or belittle anyone who genuinely honors God in the practice. Religious activity is only empty when the participant is behaving without sincere faith.
Is Lent a meaningful experience for you? How do you prepare your heart to celebrate the risen Lord Jesus on Easter morning?
The Lenten Season for 2024:
Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras)- February 13
Ash Wednesday – February 14
Palm Sunday – March 24
Easter Sunday – March 31
For further study:
For a Catholic perspective on Lent:
For a Methodist perspective on Lent:
For an Episcopal perspective on Lent:
The Bible Project has a three-part series on spiritual practices. Volume 2 talks about the importance of feasting and fasting.
Copyright @ TA Boland 2024
Image: Unsplash
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