Lent is a period of 46 days (40 days not including Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter, originally a period of preparation for those to be baptized at Easter. It later became a time of penitence and self-examination for all Christians. Lent is a word that many people associate with deprivation, self-denial, and drudgery. But this is far from it’s actual and intended meaning!
The word ‘Lent’ actually comes from the Anglo Saxon word for Spring. Faithful Christians through the ages have always used the 40 days of Lent to restore vibrancy, life, passion, and vision in their walk with God. The tradition of Lent reflects the wisdom of our Christian ancestors who understood that we seemingly cannot help ourselves when it comes to accepting substitutes for God. C.S. Lewis, in his famous sermon The Weight of Glory said it well: “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
The forty days of Lent are meant to be symbolic of the forty days spent by Christ in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. By observing Lent, we follow Jesus into the wilderness, resist temptation, pray, and proceed “on the way” to Jerusalem and the cross of Good Friday. However, unlike Jesus, our Lenten journey is one of repentance, that is, changing directions from self, self-serving patterns and a myopic focus on our life, toward the others-focused way of life of following Jesus. On this journey, we follow Jesus in laying down ourselves for others and trust that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is enough to guide us in repentance and renewal. The intervention of God’s gracious Spirit makes life-long changes become possible. Turning from the old self and experiencing a dying of old ways prepares us to truly experience the joy of Easter.