What is Lent?

 

            When we think of the church’s liturgical season of Lent, two specific days usually come to mind.  The first is Mardi Gras, the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday.  Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” which clues us in on what happens on this day.  Since Lent is a period of fasting and penitence and reflection on our sins, the day before Lent has turned into a holiday of indulgence.  Originally, the Christian church would celebrate Mardi Gras by indulging in extravagant banquets and eating rich delicacies prior to the start of Lent.  It was not originally the decadence that we associate with Mardi Gras in New Orleans. 

            You may see some people refer to Mardi Gras as Shrove Tuesday.  This is because Mardi Gras is the last day in the Shrovetide liturgical season and ushers in the liturgical season of Lent, which continues until Easter.  Traditionally, the palms that were waved on last year’s Palm Sunday are brought back to the church and burned on Shrove Tuesday, with the ashes being used on Ash Wednesday.

            Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent.  Traditionally on this day, a special service is held where people are marked with the sign of a cross on their forehead in ashes that they are to wear the whole day as a reminder of who they are and of what Christ has done for us.

            There are several reasons why we use ashes: first, they are a reminder of who and what we are.  The Bible tells us that we came from dust and that we will return to dust.  If you remember, in the Book of Genesis it says that Adam was created from the dust of the ground and that he only became alive when God breathed the breath of life into him.  So, the ashes remind us that without God in our lives, we are just like dust, without life and without worth.

            Second, the ashes also remind us that anything we do in our own power apart from God is worthless.  The Bible tells us that there is nothing that we can do on our own that has any value to God.  That’s why we can’t work our way to heaven.  Our lives and our actions only have value if God works through us and gives us meaning and purpose, so the ashes remind us that we have to depend on God throughout our whole lives

            The third reason we use ashes is that ashes have traditionally been a sign of repentance and mourning in the Bible.  Back in the Bible days, it was common for those who were sorry for their sins and who wanted to make a new beginning with God to cover themselves with sackcloth and ashes.  That’s why it says in Job 42:6, "I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."  Ashes are a symbol of our repentance and a sign that we seek forgiveness through God's grace

            The ashes are placed on the foreheads in the sign of a cross as a reminder that after we have mourned and repented of our sins and trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit.  Traditionally, the ashes used on Ash Wednesday would be mixed with oil to symbolize the presence of the Holy Spirit who works to keep us holy and who intercedes on our behalf.

            One more thing about the ashes: the ashes used on Ash Wednesday usually come from palm fronds.  Palms are symbols of victory and were waved before Christ as He entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  By making the ashes from palms we are reminded of how we have victory through Christ's death and resurrection.

            So, the overall purpose of putting the ashes on your forehead on Ash Wednesday at the start of Lent is to remind us that we belong to Jesus and to celebrate what He has done in our lives.

            Lent is a 40-day liturgical season of penitence, reflection, prayer and worship.  It is a time when we reflect on our mortality, our sinfulness, and our need for the Savior who suffered and died so that we might be forgiven of our sins and gain eternal life with Him.

            Lent was started in the early days of the church as a remembrance of Christ's time in the wilderness and as a time for Christian converts to be prepared for baptism, which traditionally took place on Easter morning.  During this time, they would be instructed in the faith.  They would undergo catechism and would receive intensive lessons on who Christ was, what it meant to follow Christ and on the ultimate sacrifice that He made for us on the cross of Calvary.

            For those who were already Christians, Lent was a time of reflection on their lives and their Christian walks in preparation for the rededication of their lives to Christ on Easter morning.

            The word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word, "lencten," meaning spring, the time of the year when the days grow long.  As we noted above, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts for forty days, not counting Sundays, and ends on the Saturday before Easter

            The season of Lent is not in the Bible.  It was started in the early days of the church as a remembrance of two events in the life of our Lord where He took time out from the world to spend a moment with the Father and to prepare for what the Father was about to do through Him.

            Following the example of Christ, the early church developed the season of Lent as a time of reflection, prayer, and strengthening to help Christians get ready to celebrate Easter.

            Lent was developed to be a special moment for us -- a time when we could take a break from our normal routines, to stop the world for just a moment, so we could spend time with God and prepare ourselves for Easter.

            It is also a time for us to look honestly at who we are to see if we are truly walking with God or if we have sin in our lives that we need to repent of and it is a time when we try to share in the sorrows and sufferings of Christ so we can better appreciate what He has done for us and who we are in Him.

            Typically, on Lent, Christians are encouraged to fast in some fashion by giving up something and to use the time we would normally spend doing that with the Lord.  A lot of people participate in a typical fast by giving up food for a meal or for a day during this period and spending the time in prayer.  Others abstain from television or the internet or something else that is a constant distraction from their walk with God.  If you don’t want to give something up, you could always try adding a spiritual discipline during this 40-day period, such as reading through the New Testament or starting a quiet time with the Lord.

            What you do during Lent is up to you.  You don’t have to do anything.  But you will reap the benefits of taking this season seriously and using this time to reflect on who you are in the Lord and on your relationship with Him.