When I woke up this morning and that can only mean one thing…the seasons are changing. As the days get warmer and longer and the skies are increasingly discolored with an ever growing yellow hue from the clouds of Chris-destroying pollen, we know that Winter is on the way out and Spring is moving in.
That is not, however, the only seasonal shift we are experiencing at the moment. For most of the history of the church, followers of Jesus have followed another calendar, one not based on our planet’s position on her axis, but a calendar in which the seasons move in the rhythms of the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ.
Today is Ash Wednesday, a day that marks the seasonal change from Epiphany to Lent.
So…What is Lent?
Lent is a season that lasts for forty days (excluding Sundays) to reflect the time Jesus spent in the Wilderness being tempted by the devil and preparing himself for his ministry and being prepared for his death. For Christians, it is forty days to prepare for Easter Sunday. The lenten season calls us to remember that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and because of that, to be a people of confession and repentance. We fast as an act of worship and in order to remember to trust fully in the provisions given to us by a merciful and gracioius Father. We give generously and sacrificially to those around us who are in need because our God has given his one and only son, freely and sacrificially, so that sinful people can be made into sons and daughters of God. Most imporantly, Lent reminds us that Holy Week is coming. Throughout the forty days of wilderness and shadows we hear the triumphant reminder that Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again. This is a season wherein we are both humbled by the reality and weight of our sin and at the same time called to an overwhelming joy as we remember that Jesus has made full atonement for those sins and has forgiven the guilt of those who trust in him once and for all.
Is Lent a Requirement?
No. Of course not. There is no biblical mandate to follow Lent. Fasting during Lent does not make you a better Christian or more spiritual than your neighbor who does not. When it comes to the Church calendar and seasons, we are commanded to remember and celebrate the Resurrection on Easter Sunday and all 51 of the other Sundays of the year. There is no commandment to have Christmas Eve or Good Friday services. Observing Lent is not going to save you nor will you have to present a lenten report card when you stand before Jesus.
The season of Lent is a tool, a rhythm, a practice that can assist us in growing closer in our relationship with Jesus. It can serve as a catalyst to making practices that are commanded of us like confession, prayer, fasting, and giving to those in need a more constant presence in our lives.
Observing Lent and the other seasons of the Christian year also gives us the opportunity to do all of this together. In a time where we have access to the entire world in the palm of our hands and yet, more often than not, choose isolation and independence, the lenten season calls us to pray, fast, confess, and give as one church family together with the Church all over the world and throughout history.
So, is Lent a requirement for followers of Jesus? No. But it can absolutely be a helpful and fruitful practice to help the believer in Christ grow in both love for Jesus and in unity with other Christians. If you choose to observe this lenten season and all its practices be sure to not be superstitious, legalistic, or prideful, but keep our eyes fixed on Jesus as we walk through the wilderness on the road to resurrection.