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The season of Lent started this week. Let’s face it, Lent has a bit of a reputation problem.
Among some Christians, it’s this dour season when people willingly take on extra misery. Among other Christians, it’s a strange, pointless ritual that doesn’t seem to have much connection to what Jesus talked about.
There’s a smaller group though. Some Christians are big fans of Lent. I’m one of those people. For me, Lent is the best time of the year. Why? Because Lent reminds me what is important. Lent helps me prepare for the great celebrations at Easter.
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Before I try to convince you that Lent is the best season, let’s review where it came from.
From ancient times, one of the ways Christians prepared for Easter was by providing a time to repent of grievous sins. While that sounds severe, look at it the other way. The church gave people a second (and a third, and a fourth) chance. You could mess up badly and still have an opportunity to make it right.
Lent has always been about renewal, about second chances, about new life in Jesus through the waters of baptism. Lent has always been about the important things.
Lent was also a time for people to prepare for baptism. Those to be baptized had to be taught and prepared. They had to learn the important things about the Christian faith.
Lent has always been about renewal, about second chances, about new life in Jesus through the waters of baptism. Lent has always been about the important things.
Over the centuries, Lent evolved into the season we now keep. Beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting until the week before Easter Sunday, the Lenten season is forty days (excluding Sundays). This echoes the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry.
Lent starts dramatically on Ash Wednesday. Those ash marks on people’s foreheads recall an ancient practice mentioned throughout the Old Testament. When people had done something awful, they would be covered in ashes as a sign of humiliation. It was a way of showing that it’s not all about us. We’re not important, but God is very important.
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Wearing ashes around on your forehead in glamorous America is only a little bit humiliating, but it certainly reminds us that the world doesn’t revolve around us. When we receive that little cross-shaped ashen smudge, we’re told, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
This sounds harsh, but it’s a beautiful gift. We are reminded that life is short, so we’d better live it well. And so after Ash Wednesday we enter into the Lenten season to remember how to live life well.
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The word “Lent” comes from an Old English word that means “spring season.” Many of us do a spring cleaning of our homes, and I like to think of Lent as a spring cleaning for our souls. You don’t have to be Catholic or to be part of Christian church that observes Lent to make your own journey through the season. Lent can be for everyone. It is, quite simply, a time to remember and to practice the most important things.
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No one should give up something for Lent for the sake of misery itself. Misery is not God’s desire! Instead, we might give things up that take us away from Jesus to make more room for those things that bring us closer to Jesus. So if I play too many computer games, I might give up computer games to make more time for prayer, or service of those in need, or even quality time with my family.
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Now, in our culture where most of us consume more than we need, the custom of self-denial can be helpful. Again, it’s not about misery. I might fast — that is, skip meals — to remind myself that meals are a gift from God. In so doing, I am reminded that I depend on God, not on things. In other words, giving things up can help me notice that it's not all about me.
Lately, it has become more common to take things on for the season of Lent. People might decide to read the Bible or pray more. But we might also decide to focus on something like forgiveness. How can we practice forgiving others? Who do we need to forgive?
Lent quietly teaches us. We have all that we need in God’s grace. We aren’t meant to look after ourselves alone but rather to offer sacrificial love to our neighbors. We don’t need to fear anything.
The voices shout at us all the time. Get more stuff! Look out for your own interests! Stay safe!
And in response, Lent quietly teaches us. We have all that we need in God’s grace. We aren’t meant to look after ourselves alone, but rather to offer sacrificial love to our neighbors. We don’t need to fear anything.
Loving God and loving our neighbors are the most important things. And Lent is a wonderful way to remember that life is about love, not about our own desires. Lent is the best season, because it’s all about the best things.
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If you have never tried out Lent, or if you grew up with Lent as a season of punishment, give Lent a try this year. There are plenty of resources for Lent online, and your local church can help you journey through the season.
This season can be a gift to us. Let us accept the gift of Lent as we seek to focus on the most important things.