Lent is the 40 day time period leading up to the celebration of Easter. It always begins on a Wednesday. Now if you sat down with a calendar and counted up the days, you’d discover that it is actually 46 days long. That’s because the 6 Sundays aren’t counted. Every Sunday of the year, even during Lent, is a “mini-Easter,” a little celebration of resurrection.
Why is Lent 40 days long?
The 40 days comes from the story of Jesus going out into the wilderness for 40 days at the beginning of his ministry, such as told in Luke 4:1-13. Right after his baptism and before he started preaching and healing, Jesus took 40 days to spend alone. He prayed, he fasted, and he faced the things that would tempt him the most to abandon the mission God had given him. Also, within the Biblical tradition, 40 is more than just a number of days. Whenever you see the number 40 (as in Noah and the animals on the ark for 40 days), it means “the complete amount of time needed” or “the full time.” So Jesus was out in the wilderness for the complete amount of time needed for him to be ready to take on what God asked of him.
Why is Lent important?
For those of us who follow Jesus, the 40 days are the time when we prepare ourselves to be able to fully celebrate Easter, resurrection and new life. If we take time during Lent to pray, to reflect, and to think about what life with God and following the Way of Jesus means in our lives, then the celebration of Easter is sweeter (not just because of the chocolate). No matter what you do in life, it is usually better if you take time to prepare. Most of us don’t head off on a vacation or enter an athletic contest without taking time to prepare. It’s the same for our faith--we take 40 days, follow the example of Jesus, & prepare for Easter.
What is Shrove Tuesday and why do we eat pancakes?
Shrove Tuesday has become known for pancakes, but here’s where that came from. First of all, “shrove” comes from the word “shriven” which means to have gone to confession and been granted forgiveness of sins. The practice used to be (and may still be for many Catholics) that on the day before Lent you would go to confession to prepare yourself for the 40 days. The other practice was that you would eat up all the rich and sweet things in the house to get ready for the fasting and eating of simpler food during Lent. Pancakes were a great way to use up eggs, oil and sweets. However, on the fourth Sunday of Lent (Laetare or Rejoicing Sunday), people were allowed small sweet treats to get them through to Easter. That’s why it was a big deal to have lots of rich food and sweet treats to celebrate Easter. While we don’t follow all of the Lenten practices, in our United Church-Protestant tradition, we love eating pancakes the day before Lent starts to symbolize the beginning of the season. It reminds us of that an important church season, the time of reflecting and preparing, is beginning.
What is Ash Wednesday?
Ash Wednesday gets its name from the tradition of taking last year’s old palm branches, burning them to ash, mixing them with a bit of olive oil, and then using them to mark a cross on the forehead during the Ash Wednesday service. This service is where we focus on our frailty and vulnerability as human beings. Like Yom Kippur in the Jewish faith, this is the day when together we confess and seek repentance. It is a time of being honest with ourselves and with God. It is a time of healing our relationships with self, others & God.
Why do people give up things for Lent?
It is not required in our tradition, or even in the Catholic tradition, to give up something for Lent, but it is a common practice. Symbolically, it reflects Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness. The idea is that giving up something that one loves for the 40 days shows devotion to God and challenges one to constantly think about their relationship with God. Giving up something for Lent is not part of the United Church – Protestant tradition, though some of our people find the practice helpful in their lives.
What do we do during Lent?
Rather than asking people to give something up for Lent, we invite people to use the time of Lent for reflecting on their lives as followers of the Way of Jesus and of attending to their relationship with God. What role do prayer, reading the Bible, worship and being part of a Christian community play in your life? How is your relationship with God? Do you feel that faith is doing all it could in your life and for your family? How does your faith in God lead you to make a difference in the world – because that’s what the Christian faith is all about.
Can I skip Good Friday and just celebrate Easter?
During the last week of Lent, we enter Holy Week. It begins with Palm Sunday, marking Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem to the waving of palm branches. It continues with Maundy* Thursday, a healing and communion service, remembering Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and sharing a last meal with them. Good** Friday is the most solemn and difficult service of the week, marking Jesus’ betrayal and crucifixion. Our instinct is to want to avoid this, and to not talk about this with our children. But the truth is that death is part of life, grief is part of life, pain and betrayal are part of life. When we face Good Friday, then we are ready to fully embrace the wonder and joy of resurrection, the new life and possibility of Easter. There’s an old song, “Can’t go over it, can’t go under it, can’t go around it, got to go through it.” That’s true for Good Friday and for all the grief, loss and death we face in life. The only way is through it. We can try to avoid these difficult things, but if we face Good Friday, allowing our trust in God to deepen, then Easter is all the sweeter and more joyful (even more reason for celebrating with chocolate and other treats).
*Maundy comes from the Latin “mandatum” which means “commandment.” The traditional first reading in this service was Jesus’ words to his disciples, “This is my commandment that you love one another that your joy may be complete.” This service became known as the Mandatum or commandment service, which became Maundy.
**What’s Good about Good Friday? The name of this day comes from God’s Friday. Just as “God be with you” gradually became “Good-bye,” so “God’s Friday” became Good Friday.
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