Most of us probably attach some varying level of significance to Feb. 14. It’s Valentine’s Day. And according to comedian Jim Gaffigan, without Valentine’s Day, February would be … well, January.
But this year, many Christians will be observing something else on that day – Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday commences the observance of Lent. Lent is a period of preparation for the remembrance and celebration of Jesus’ death on Good Friday and his rising on Resurrection Sunday.
Lent has been observed since the early centuries of the church, although at first it apparently lasted only a few days to a week. It was later expanded to a period of 40 days, coinciding with the period of Jesus’ testing in the wilderness. Counting 40 days back from Easter (not including the Sundays) places the beginning of Lent on a Wednesday, known as Ash Wednesday due to the traditional practice of dabbing ashes on one’s forehead as a sign of penitence.
The observance of Lent is common among Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, but it is also sometimes practiced by Anglicans, Episcopalians, Methodists, and Lutherans. As a period of preparation, Lent typically involves prayer and some sort of fasting. In the Roman Catholic Church, it is common for people to abstain from eating animal products (often with the exception of fish and dairy) every Friday prior to Easter, including on Good Friday and on Ash Wednesday. Parishioners are exhorted to fast on other days as well as a form of penitence, though it might not always involve food. Some might fast from luxuries such as entertainment or other forms of media like video games, smart phones, or the internet. This gives rise to people often talking about “giving up something” for Lent.
With the Protestant Reformation, many rejected the observance of Lent as something extra-biblical. The Reformers rightly resisted any exercise of church authority that attempted to bind consciences to doctrines and practices not commanded in the Bible.
“A period of preparation can aid us in being more mindful of our sins, more thankful for God’s gift of salvation, and more joyful in the daily sufficiency of his grace as we reflect on the implications of the cross and empty tomb.”
Still, perhaps it is worth considering – or reconsidering – whether an encouragement (not a requirement) to observe Lent as a preparation for Good Friday and Easter has some value. Committing to a season of prayer and self-denial, not as an act of penance (in a Roman Catholic sense) but as a spiritual discipline, can be particularly profitable in a culture that defaults toward indulgence and in which the value of self-denial is rarely considered, let alone actually practiced. In addition, a period of preparation can aid us in being more mindful of our sins, more thankful for God’s gift of salvation, and more joyful in the daily sufficiency of his grace as we reflect on the implications of the cross and empty tomb.
Observing Lent may be something entirely new to you – and even sort of strange. And since there is no command from God in his Word to observe it, you’re free from any obligation. But it is nevertheless true that we usually benefit from taking time to prepare our hearts to experience solemn remembrances (like Good Friday) and holy celebrations (like Resurrection Sunday). One (not the only) way to prepare is through a season of prayer and self-denial in which we are “giving something up” for Lent.
This doesn’t have to be extreme. Maybe you give up soda, or snacks, or coffee, or playing a favorite game, or you turn off your phone at 5pm and don’t turn it back on until the next morning. While giving up such things is hardly excessive, whatever it is should be hard for you personally. It should feel like denial. It should require sacrifice. It should demand the exercise of impulse resistance and self-discipline over the course of six and half weeks.
“Whether I know it or not, he is what my heart is always ultimately craving because I’m made for him. I’m blessed when I’m forced to remember that.”
I’ve often given up sweets for Lent because I find it very challenging to resist desserts after dinner – so much so that I need to ask God for help to do it and rely on his strength to battle my urges. I have to remind myself that he is the Source of every delicious morsel I enjoy (Ecclesiastes 2:25) and because he is the Source, he is better and offers me deeper satisfaction and sustenance than anything I’m craving in the moment. Whether I know it or not, he is what my heart is always ultimately craving because I’m made for him (Psalm 107:9). I’m blessed when I’m forced to remember that.
Perhaps you’re more inclined to give up time-consuming practices over calorie-consuming practices. If that’s the case, it’s wise to think about replacing behaviors with things that set your heart more specifically on heavenly things. For example, devote the time you’re not spending on your phone or playing video games to pray, or to listen to an edifying podcast, or to spend time reading the Word or other devotional material.
Whatever you “give up,” it’s appropriate to lift the restriction on Sundays during Lent. Sundays are days for feasting, not fasting. This is because every Sunday, not just Easter Sunday, is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. If you don’t “give up” anything, that’s ok, too. But may it be that God will grant us all the grace to prepare our hearts for Good Friday and Easter as we set our hope upon the atoning death of Jesus and upon the transforming power of the resurrection, not only during this season but at all times.