As March begins, so has the season of Lent. Lent is the period of time leading up to Easter Day. It commemorates the “road to Jeruslaem” that Jesus took and which ended finally in his arrest, condemnation and execution.
Lent is traditionally a time of spiritual introspection and reflection, a time of repentance and rededication to Jesus and the kingdom of God. So here is a Q & A about Lent, call it the “Lenten FAQs,” if you will.
Q: Why is Lent 40 days long?
A: The 40 days of Lent is derived from the 40 days the Jesus spent in the wilderness as he prepared himself spiritually for his earthly ministry.
Q: Lent began on Feb. 25, and that is more than 40 days before Easter’s date of April 12. Why is that?
A: The 40-day count does not include Sundays since every Sunday is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Counting 40 days back from Easter, not including the Sundays, results in Lent beginning on Feb. 25.
Q: What is the story behind fasting for Lent?
A: Fasting is an ancient spiritual practice, almost universal in the Middle East, that long predates the birth of Jesus. Fasting is not only part of Jewish practice, Muslims do also and so did many early churches. Lenten fasting is a spiritual discipline done in imitation of Christ, who fasted. It also commemorates Jesus’ sacrifice of himself on our behalf.
Dietary fasting traditionally means partaking only of liquids between sunup and sundown, eating solid food only after dark. Another practice is not dietary fasting but giving up a habit that is spiritually unhealthy. The object here is to renounce habits and pattern of sin for Lent with the object that they can be vanquished permanently.
Q: What about “giving up chocolate for Lent?”
A: If chocolate is a spiritual obstacle between oneself and godliness, then give it up! But if it is not, then giving up chocolate is probably not very meaningful. The Lenten fast or sacrifice should be spiritually formative; usually that means it will be challenging.
Q: What does the word, “Lent” really mean?
A: “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, “lencten,” meaning Spring, the season in which Easter occurs.
Q: Doesn’t Easter always occur on the Sunday after Passover?
A: The clear witness of the Gospels is that Jesus was crucified on the Friday after the day of Passover. This year, Passover begins at sunset on Wednesday, April 8. So this year the biblical relationship between Passover and Easter is maintained. However, the church calendar is a solar calendar while the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar. So that connection usually will not happen. Last year, Passover began on April 19 while Easter was on March 23.
A Lenten discipline for us – please come as you are able to the altar rail to pray during the closing hymn of Sunday services. I will build in time for that so that we can still end after an hour. Prayer is the foundation of spiritual formation!
