A Brief Overview of Lent
The holy and blessed season of Lent is one of the most significant times in the church liturgical calendar year. During this time, we journey with Jesus on the road to His passion that will eventually lead us to a bloody cross and an empty tomb. Alongside Advent leading up to Christmastide, Lent provides an array of wonderful opportunities to grow in one’s relationship with Christ, the Father in heaven, and the indwelling Spirit of God living in every believer, follower, and disciple of Jesus.
Recently, I have been asked by several people the significance of Lent, Ash Wednesday, and the Holy Week experience. And so, without providing a scholarly essay which the common layperson may not be able to understand, I would like to point out a few key elements that I feel will aid in developing a deeper, Christocentric approach to Lent.
The earliest mention of the liturgical season of Lent in the history of the Church is from the Council of Nicea (325 AD). In 313 AD, the Emperor Constantine recognized Christianity, and ten years later, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. This council is best known for its profession of faith, especially in the words of the Nicene Creed, which continues to be cited in most confessional, orthodox churches to this day.
Up until this time in the history of the Church, early Christians had observed Easter Sunday in which Christ’s resurrection from the dead was celebrated; and, correspondingly, two-to-three days of preparation were observed commemorating Jesus’ passion and death. This became known as Holy Week - or the last week of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth. It was not until after Vatican II (1965) that the Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday) was closely examined and consequently gained a renewed focus. These three services are commonly expressed as one long and continuing service, though three established and separate Holy Days.
The Greek word for Lent is tessarakonta, which means “forty.” The number forty is significant in the Bible. Forty is the number of judgment and spiritual testing (c.f. Gn. 7:4, Ex. 24:18, 34:28, Nm. 13:25, 14:33,). This length of time is consistent with four major biblical accounts of which we read in Holy Scripture: 1) Moses’ reception of the Ten Commandments on Mount Horeb (c.f. Ex. 34:28); 2) Elijah in the wilderness before he reached Mount Sinai (c.f. 1 Kings 19:8); 3) the nation of Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land (c.f. Joshua 5:6); and 4) Jesus’ testing and temptation in the wilderness (c.f. Matt. 4).
The old English word for “Lent” also has some beautiful connotations and imagery from which to elucidate rich contextual meaning. It comes from the early Anglo-Saxon word lencten, meaning “Spring” and can also mean “to lengthen.” The season of Lent approaches at a time when the length of days are getting longer, encroaching upon springtime. In the same way, the spiritual journey with Christ in Lent holds the potential to “lengthen” - or better said to “deepen” - one’s relationship with Jesus.
With the desire to renew the spiritual practices of the Church in the 20th century, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy states: “The two elements which are especially characteristic of Lent - the recalling of baptism or the preparation for it, and penance - should be given greater emphasis in the liturgy and in liturgical catechesis.”
From this document published at the time of Vatican II, the previously established notion of liturgical and catechetical formation of how one might partner with the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit to grow in relationship with God began to take a unique shape and form. Hence, the further development of three main Lenten practices have been observed: 1) prayer, 2) fasting, and 3) almsgiving. Each of these spiritual disciplines encourages the disciple of Jesus to grow in relationship with God, which in turn, seeks to bless and serve one’s neighbor.
Prayer seeks to reconnect our earthly lives with the kingdom of God that is alive and always pervading the ever-changing realities of this broken world. It fosters a bending of one’s will to that which only God desires, from which we pray the words that Jesus taught us to pray: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Lord’s Prayer, Third Petition).
Fasting seeks to foster the heart and attitude of the apostle John who said, “I must decrease; He must increase” (John 3:30). This happens by ridding oneself of the calamities of our sin-infested world and replacing them with the inner-workings of the Holy Spirit that perfects in the believer that which is already perfect in Christ. This process, in theological terms, is called sanctification; that is, the particular work of God the Holy Spirit to perfect in us that which is already perfect and holy in Christ. For, after all, the command of Christ is “to be holy as I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16).
The third discipline, almsgiving, is what James discusses in detail in his Epistle when he says: “faith without works is dead (c.f. James 2:14-26). The desire to give to others is first recognized by acknowledging the benevolent goodness of the Father through his son Jesus Christ to give what is not deserved. Then, and only then, can one selflessly give as one has received from Christ (c.f. Luke 12:48, 2 Cor. 9:7).
It is also important to note that before the Middle Ages, there was only one Church. The Church as we know it today - West, East, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant - had not yet been formed. Sadly, this happened in the 11th century when the Church became divided. Thus, Lent can be seen as an ecumenical celebration of what believers from all around the world confess in the Sunday morning liturgies, “...We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church…” (3rd Article of the Nicene Creed). This unity in the Body of Christ, indeed, is something worthy to acknowledge and celebrate.
The season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues until Easter Sunday. On Ash Wednesday, ashes from the previous year’s Palm Sunday service are sprinkled on the foreheads of God’s people, reminding them of the sobering words of Scripture: “you are dust and to dust you shall return” (c.f. Gen. 3:19, Eccles. 3:20). The Imposition of Ashes by the pastor or priest are given in the sign of the cross, reminding the baptized of their baptism into the death of Jesus and likewise into the life of Jesus. It is a sober and humble reminder that we are passing from this life into the next, from our temporal reality to our eternal home.
Finally, the Paschal Triduum, are the three Holy Days beginning on the evening of Maundy Thursday and concluding on the evening of the Paschal Feast, Eastertide. Maundy Thursday derives its name from the Latin word, “Mandatum,” which means “commandment,” from which we hear Jesus say, “A new commandment I give to you: as I have loved you, so now love one another” (c.f. Jn. 13:34). It is also the night in which our Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper, which is why first communicants often receive their First Communion on this Holy Day.
On Good Friday we enter into the death and passion of our Lord Jesus Christ by lamenting our great sin that nailed Jesus to the cross. This often is observed in the Tenebrae Service - an ancient Good Friday practice that slowly extinguishes light to darkness, representing the coming darkness of Jesus’ death.
And then Easter Sunday, the point to which all things become clear: that Jesus is who He said He was; namely, the Christ, the Messiah of God. What the apostle Peter confessed in the Holy Gospel of Matthew about Jesus’ identity has at last become visible to the entire world, that “you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God” (c.f. Matt. 16:16). On this Holy Day, we celebrate the truth that Jesus is not dead, but alive; that Jesus is not confined to the grave, but that He lives forevermore. And here is the powerful truth that can change one’s life: the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you, and, indeed, will also raise you from the dead on the Last Day (c.f. Romans 8).
By no means is this an exhaustive account of the historical practice of Lent. However, in conclusion, I do hope that these words might inspire and deepen your walk this Lenten season as you continue your journey with Jesus to the cross and the empty tomb.