American Christianity has largely left behind the liturgical traditions of the church. The practice of Lent is more than a religious ritual- it’s a season of spiritual enrichment that points to the Resurrection.
“We’re Christians. We don’t do Lent.”
Such was the snark from a mega-church friend when my wife mentioned our preparations to observe Lent. Is Lent just a human invention, a fussy religious ritual instead of “real Christianity”?
And shouldn’t we be doing the Lent stuff that the Book of Common Prayer lays out– self-examination and repentance…prayer, fasting, and alms-giving…reading and meditating on God’s holy Word–all the time?
Why Lent?
First, Christians grow in fits and starts, not all at once. The mystery of our faith is the replacement of our sinful, mortal self with the righteous and eternal life of Christ (Galatians 2:20), and that life of Christ is such that the world cannot contain the books needed to record all of his words and deeds (John 21:25). The flippant boast that “We’re just Christians all the time” is to ignore and even deny the majestic mystery of our ongoing transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18). Lent is an opportunity for intentional growth toward Christ-likeness.
Jesus himself sent the church to coach us along in this growth. When he gave his Great Commission, he was clear that we wouldn’t “just be Christians” all at once. Rather, he sent his Apostles to “make disciples… teaching them…” (Matthew 28:19-20) Lent is an opportunity to bear down on some remedial learning in the school of discipleship, and to identify where we’ve ignored or even flunked the teachings of Christ.
Lent is a recurring intensive course in our lifelong work of discipleship toward eternal life. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:49) Lent is an annual exploration of our conformity to the man of dust, but also another opportunity to discover our God-given progress toward unity with the man of heaven, triumphant at Easter.
Why Lent?
A second explanation is that God wove holy seasons into the creation for our benefit:
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. (Genesis 1:14-15)
Even our mega-church, nondenominational friends recognize holy seasons. They’re always busting out “40 Days of Prayer for This, That and The Other Thing” campaigns.
Our Anglican tradition continues the longstanding use of the Christian year, using a repeating series of seasons and Holy Days to teach “salvation history,” the proclamation of the life, words and deeds of Christ as set forth in the Bible.
Again, we don’t “get it all at once.” It’s too much wonder and we’re too limited to take it all in! By living in the Church year, year in and year out, we discover truths we’ve missed. We learn more of Christ as, by God’s grace, we are ready to receive more of him.
Why Lent?
Finally, there are the time-tested benefits that Lent has provided to the whole church. The Ash Wednesday service informs us:
The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the faith were prepared for Holy Baptism. It was also a time when those who, because of notorious sins, had been separated from the body of the faithful, were reconciled by penitence and forgiveness, and restored to the fellowship of the Church. In this manner, the whole Congregation was put in mind of the message of pardon and absolution set forth in the Gospel of our Savior, and of the need that all Christians continually have to renew our repentance and faith. (Book of Common Prayer 2019, p. 543)
Why Lent? Because Christians grow in fits and starts, not all at once. God graciously wove holy seasons into the creation for our benefit. Over time, the season of Lent has provided particular benefits to the whole church, calling forth great devotion and putting God’s people in mind of the Gospel of our Savior, to whom be all glory, laud, and honor, now and forever. Amen.