Should I Care About Lent At All?
“No, you shouldn’t!!!” That’s the dominant message that I heard for years.
However, I have found that keeping a Lenten season can be valuable. I would not hold this opinion over anyone, but I find that celebrating Lent– in one form or another– has helped me.
Before you become overly critical, ask yourself these 2 questions:
1) How many of the Consumerist Holidays do I celebrate and why?
It’s holidays include New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, the 4th of July, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Halloween, and Thanksgiving, (and perhaps Christmas).
2) What exactly is Lent?
A Definition: Lent is a forty day period of preparation leading up to Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus. The number of days seems to have been drawn from biblical sources. For example, Jesus and Elijah were in the desert 40 days (1 Kings 19:8, Luke4:2). Moses was on Mount Sinai 40 days (Exo. 24:18).
Historical Notes:
- It’s an old practice. We find a mention of 40 day Lent in Canon 5 of the Ecumenical Council of Nicea (318 AD). At this point, the practice is as an established church tradition. Irenaeus (a second century figure) mentions a short term (2 day) Lenten-type fast before the celebration of Easter.
- Daniel Sahas notes that the word Lent itself is drawn from an Anglo-Saxon term lencten, meaning Spring (Encyclopedia of Early Christianity (Garland, 1990): 533.
How can I practice Lent?
There are many creative ways to celebrate Lent. John Marks Hicks has given ten suggestions at his blog. It is a period of time for self-examination and self-denial. Should you choose to give up food or some activity– the purpose should be to create a space where you can be close to God.
So be creative and seek after the Lord as fully as you are able.
It’s sad that we have spend so much of our time opposeing activities that are for self-examination and self-denial. Thanks for your simple explanation and encouragement to create a time to draw closer to our God, regardless of what it is called.