Lent is here! Or, it will be soon. The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday and end with the breaking of the Easter vigil. Christians began to keep Lent in the early days of the church. By the third century of our Lord, the church began to prepare for celebration of the resurrection. At first, the season of preparation was just Good Friday and Holy Saturday, but over the years, the season grew to forty days.
Lent is a season of repentance, acknowledging and turning away from our sins. It begins with Ash Wednesday, which involves applying ashes in the sign of the cross on the forehead of repentant Christians. This rite is a reminder of three things: the sign of the cross placed on us during our baptism, our mortality, and the sin that Jesus’ blood washed away.
During Lent, Christians practice special practices to prepare for celebrating the resurrection. Historically, the common practice was fasting and giving to the poor. The Roman church mandates giving up meat on Fridays. (Our Lutheran confessions observe that medieval Roman Catholics ate extravagant fish dinners in the name of fasting!) But other things can be given up instead. Some give up a vice, such as smoking. In the past, I have given up social media.
In recent years, many are using Lent as a season to do something extra. I heartily recommend reading an extra devotion. If you are not up for reading a devotion, there are many audio devotions that you can listen to on your phone. (Look at groundupgrace.com or lhm.org for audio devotions.) We can donate more time and resources to charity. Help at Rockdale Christian Services or your favorite group. Maybe even reach out and help your neighbors extra during this season.
Lent is forty days long. Why forty? Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness fasting before beginning his ministry. Moses spent 40 days fasting while receiving the Law from the Lord. Elijah fasted forty days in the desert before encountering the Lord God at Mount Horeb. Beyond these, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years.
There is a trick with counting to forty during Lent. You don’t count the Sundays. If you counted the Sundays, there are actually forty-six days from Ash Wednesday until Easter. But the Sundays are not part of the fast. This means, if you give up eating chocolate during Lent, you can eat as much chocolate as you want on each Sunday! Why? Sundays always celebrate the resurrection, even within the Lenten season. Further, every week needs a day of rest, even a week of fasting.
Oh yes. As a congregation, will give up a something up too. We will forgo the “Alleluia.” This means that the Hymn of Praise will disappear, the Alleluia verse will be replaced, and the post-communion canticle will be replaced. These changes create a more somber atmosphere.
Now a frequent question about Lent is “do I have to?” As Lutherans, the answer is no. No, we don’t have to; Jesus did it all. Fasting and alms giving do not add one iota to what Jesus did. He doesn’t need our good works to prove that we are really saved. We are free because of what Jesus did. But we can use our freedom in Christ to do something special because of what the Lord first did for us. We can do a Lenten practice as a way of remembering the great sacrifice Christ made on the cross for our sins.
As we journey toward the cross the Lent, I pray that the Christ’s sacrifice will bring you great joy and enliven your hope of the age to come.