WHAT
WE GAIN FROM OBSERVING LENT
As
we approach Ash Wednesday, my aim today is to discuss what the church might
gain from observing the season of lent. Lent is not solely Catholic as many
would assume, for there are many Protestant traditions who observe the season.
It is also not insincere simply because it is tradition as others might assume.
I have spoken often of the fact that sincerity has little to do with ritual or
spontaneity. Sincerity, rather, is connected to the heart. Perhaps, this is to
what Jesus refers when he says, “This people honors me with their lips, but
their heart is far from me.” (Matt 15:8 ESV) This should surely highlight the
corporate nature of spirituality; yet, it also points to a deeper matter than
what is on the surface. Lent could certainly be surface-level for some people;
for others, however, Lent could (and should for everyone in reality) be a
sincere observance.
Lent
is the 40-day season leading to Easter. The season is considered 40 days if Sundays are not
included. Lent then begins Ash Wednesday and ends the Saturday of the Paschal
Triduum just before Easter Sunday. Shrove Tuesday (Fat Tuesday in Western
culture) is often lumped in with Lent but is actually just before Lent begins.[1]
Its beginnings are born of a 2nd-century reflection during a 2-day
fast leading to Easter; by the 3rd-century, fasting was expanded
through Holy Week; and by the 4th-century, Rome developed a practice
of a 3-week fast, which expanded throughout the empire and eventually became an
observance of an entire season beginning the sixth Sunday before Easter.
The biblical background is diverse
including the 40-day flood, Moses on Mt. Sinai, the spies in Cana, the
Israelites in the desert for 40 years, most apparently Jesus in the desert for
40 days, and even his walking the earth for 40 days after his resurrection.
There exists a variety of themes during Lent which are vital to the Christian
life, e.g. reflection, a refocusing of one’s relationship with God, dependence
on God, a reminder of humanity’s mortality, and selflessness.
Knowing this information, I suggest that Lent is, in
no way, a meaningless ritual, especially if one’s observances are sincere. If
the observance of Lent is meaningless ritual, why then is the observance of
Christmas or Easter not the same? Derived from this knowledge then, I have four
predominant imperatives which we gain from observing Lent.
A Loss of Self
We
first gain a loss of self or a necessary selflessness. John says, “He must
increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30 ESV) The Apostle Paul understands the
importance of this concept when he says, “For me to live is Christ, and to die
is gain.” (Phil 1:21) It is not the glorification of self then that
accomplishes God’s glory in the Christian life but rather the loss of self.
Even if we go to the ends of the earth to preach the gospel, if the aim and
indeed the result is our own praise, we have missed the point, for nothing we
do in life should be about us. In fact, I submit that in circumstances where we
receive praise naturally, we should turn the praise Godward. Lent allows us to
do this. Lent allows us to remember that we are merely human. An intentional
reflection in such a truth is not bad but surely helps us in our faith.
A Godward Focus
Giving
up something during the Lenten season is not a biblical mandate; nor is the
observance of Lent itself. What observing Lent does, however, is creates an
intentional method by which to focus on holy God. Giving up something should be
simply reflective of a total focus on God. It is declaring our own spiritual
death and new life in Christ. I have heard multiple criticisms of Lent and the
idea of giving up something during the season. Why such a practice would be
criticized I can only speculate. My initial assumption is that Lent is
associated 1) with Catholicism and 2) with meaningless ritual. I have already
covered the meaningless ritual. To associate Lent solely with Catholicism,
however, is to negate the fact that prior to the Reformation, there were not
denominations but only one church; thus, many of the practices employed today
(even in Catholic traditions) are derived from a people centered around Jesus
Christ. Liturgical observances then are not uniquely Catholic but are
deliberate ways to tell the full counsel of God through time. God stepped into
time and space in the person of Jesus Christ and uses time and space to
proclaim the gospel. What a lectionary and liturgical calendar does then is
provides humanity a way to share in the gospel story of Jesus Christ. Many
Protestant churches, in fact, observe liturgical seasons and feasts such as
Lent to this day. By observing the season of Lent, we pave the way for a
Godward focus, a decrease in focus on ourselves and an increase in focus on
God.
A Humility and Dependence on God
Thirdly,
Lent easily provides us a humility and dependence on God. Consider Jesus’ 40
days in the desert. He fought Satan himself with Scripture. He did not eat for
the duration of his time in the desert and had to rely totally on God. On Ash
Wednesday, when a minister is placing ashes on the forehead of one who opts to
receive them, he or she usually says something like this:
“Remember that you
are dust, and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the gospel.” The
idea is that we are merely human. We will die one day. God, however, is
eternal. The ashes remind us of both our mortality and God’s immortality. That
realization, in turn, should give us a humility that is only indicative of our
present realization. Many people choose to give up something during Lent,
whether food or something else, out of a perpetual realization that life comes
from God and humanity is completely dependent on him. A season such as Lent,
which offers a time to focus and refocus more on God and less on self, grants
us the opportunity to realize our own depravity and mortality and, thus,
reflect upon our dependence on God.
A Remembrance and Preparation for the Coming Celebration
Finally,
observing Lent gives Christians an opportunity for not only remembrance but
also preparation for the coming celebration. Numerous times in the Bible, we
are told to remember, the most obvious likely being Jesus’ command to take
Communion in remembrance of him. (Luke 22:19) Lent extends the remembrance of
many themes, e.g. humanity’s mortality and God’s immortality, selflessness,
Godward focus, etc. to a 40-day period so that Christians may reflect upon and
remember those themes. Moreover, Christians remember Jesus’ time in the desert
in preparation of his own earthly ministry. Since Christ serves as our ultimate
example, we should take seriously the call to remember by modeling our lives
after Jesus himself.
Lent
is a somber season; yet, it also gives Christians a time to prepare for the
coming celebration. Lent leads to the Easter season, the 50-day season which
follows. It is unfortunate that many Christians and churches approach
celebration as something for which preparation is not necessary. Preparation
often seems to be linked to rigor, dogma, and a lack of joy. Nonetheless, as a
practical matter, our grandest celebrations in life require preparation. Why
then would we not desire to prepare for the grandest of celebrations, namely
the celebration of Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and eventual return? By observing Lent, we may rightly prepare for
the coming celebration, not only of Easter Sunday alone but the 50-day season
to follows leading to Pentecost as well as the expectation of Jesus’ return.
A Lenten Resurgence
Current
trends reveal that Christians are returning to liturgy. Even in evangelical and
free traditions, liturgical seasons and feasts are being observed more. There
seems to be a resurgence of liturgy in the church and indeed a resurgence of
the observance of Lent. Such a season is not uniquely Catholic or dogmatic but
is rather an intentional method by which to live in the reality of God’s story.
There is much we might gain from observing Lent. Believers should remember and celebrate
God’s story. Observing Lent is one way of doing so.
[1] Shrove Tuesday is from the Latin absolve and is intended for the believer to reflect upon the
current sins and struggles of which he or she needs to repent. Its evolution
into “Fat Tuesday” is unbiblical, unhistorical, and a distortion of its intent
at best.
