The Lenten Season and Ash Wednesday

A church member dropped by my office today with this question: ”Why do we not participate in Lent?”  “Good question”, I responded, but without a good answer.  I did not grow up in a church that participated in Lent.  This member of our church did (and it wasn't a Catholic Church).  We discussed the impact of cultural influences and denominational practices.  I agreed to reflect in the matter and give it some thought.

An immediate and not-so-in-depth search led me to a couple of sources and ideas on Ash Wednesday and Lent that I wanted to share with you.

Ash Wednesday, which is today, marks the beginning of the Lenten Season, the 40 days leading up to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.  In the Old Testament Ash was a sign of penitence  (Job 42:6, Jonah 3:6, a sign of purification (Numbers 19:9 & 17, and a sign of petition (Daniel 9:3).  (Christian-view.com)

Jesus reiterated the significance of ash as a sign of penitence or repentance in this passage:

Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. (Matthew 11:21; Luke 10:13)

I found a helpful article at Christian-view.com which stated, “In the modern world, people don’t spread ashes and wear sack cloth as a sign of repentance. Instead  a special day, which we call Ash Wednesday, is put aside to reflect on our lives. Ash Wednesday is observed by fasting, abstinence (mostly from meat) and repentance. It is a special day for contemplating the direction of our life, our sins or transgressions.”

Concerning the season of Lent, Michael Horton, on  ChristianityToday.com writes: 

Lent is a 40-day preparation for the observance of Christ's passion and Easter. It gives us an annual opportunity to trace the history of redemption. We learn that the number 40 is associated with a trial, a preparation, even an ordeal that leads either to blessing or curse in the stories of Noah, Moses, and Jonah. Recapitulating Adam's trial and Israel's 40 years of testing, Jesus was taken by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days, fasting instead of following Adam and the wilderness generation of Israelites in demanding the food they craved (Matt. 4:1-4). Resisting Satan's temptation with God's Word, Jesus was the Last Adam and Faithful Israel who fulfilled the trial not only for himself but also for us, as well as bearing the curse for our covenant-breaking.

New disciples in the ancient church were instructed daily in Christian doctrine and practice for the 40 days of Lent, leading to their baptism on Easter Eve. They realized that they were quite literally wrestling with demons from their pagan heritage. Isn't our culture just as toxic? Are we really making disciples, or just superficial converts?

When unburdened by superstitious rites, Lent still holds tremendous promise if we will recover its evangelical purpose; namely, leading us and our children to Christ by his Word.

In his blog on the Gospel Colition website, Matt Smethurst writes,     Lent strikes many Protestants as the exclusive domain of Roman Catholics, but this season can serve any Christian as a unique time of preparation and repentance as we anticipate the death and resurrection of Jesus. On the Christian calendar, Lent (from Latin, meaning "fortieth") is the 40 days beginning on Ash Wednesday and leading up to Easter Sunday. (Sundays aren't counted, but generally set aside as days of renewal and celebration—"mini-Easters" of sorts.)

On this blog you will find a link to Journey to the Cross,  a free devotional guide for the season of Lent.  Each week focuses on a different theme (e.g., repentance, humility, suffering, lament, sacrifice, death), and each day follows a distinct pattern: Call to Worship, Confession, Contemplation, and Closing Prayer. "Lent is about Jesus," the authors contend, and with each element "our aim is to reflect meaningfully on his journey to the cross, so that we might take up our cross and follow him." (http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/02/11/lent-is-about-jesus-a-free-devotional-guide/)

I appreciate this church member’s visit, question, and our discussion.  We are not obligated by Scripture to recognize or participate in any religious holidays of festivals.  They all pointed to Jesus and were fulfilled in Him.  (Colossians 2: 16-17, Hebrews 9-10)  While we should do so every day, perhaps this could be for us all a season in which we can reflect meaningfully on [Jesus’] journey to the cross, so that we might take up our cross and follow him."

GH