A Short Guide to Lent
What is Lent?
Lent is a season of forty days–not counting Sundays–beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday, in between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Each Sunday during these weeks is normally set aside as a day of renewal and celebration, a ‘mini-Easter’ of sorts, to remember what the resurrection has won for us. In 2022, Lent runs from Wednesday March 2 until Saturday April 14th.
These forty days have historically been used by Christians as a time to prepare their hearts for the coming of Easter by engaging in practices such as fasting, generosity, and prayer in a more focused and intentional way than at other times of the year.
Where does ‘Lent’ come from?
The forty days is symbolic of the time Jesus spent preparing for his public ministry by fasting in the wilderness and enduring the temptation of Satan. There’s nothing extra spiritual about this specific number, rather it’s a way of marking the time in a meaningful way. In a sense, Lent is a season where we step away from the world, allow ourselves to reflect on what tempts us most, and spend time in prayer and dependence upon God.
Our word ‘Lent’ has its origins in the Latin word ‘quadragesima’, meaning ‘forty’. It also has derived meaning from the Old English word ‘lencten’—which means ‘spring’ or ‘springtime’—because Lent occurs during spring in the northern hemisphere and is symbolic of the new life offered in Christ through his death and resurrection. In the early church the forty days of Lent was often used as a time to prepare new converts for baptism.
What happens during Lent?
For nearly two millenia Christians have committed to a range of practices during Lent. The most common practice is fasting or giving up certain luxuries as preparation for the coming of Easter. This is done as a way of focusing wholly on Jesus, reminding ourselves we have everything we need in him, and to intentionally give ourselves to prayer and generosity toward others instead of being absorbed by the pleasures we have chosen to give up.
Other practices include daily Scritpure reading to reflect on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, times of daily repentance to confess our sin that Jesus laid down his life for, intentional acts of generosity to mirror the generosity of God toward us in Christ, and taking time to contemplate and remember death in a raw and meaningful way. Of course, these practices play a part year round in the Christian life, however Lent can be a season to recalibrate and reorient our hearts toward Christ through intentional engagement in one or more of these rhythms.
Why is Lent worth observing?
There’s no biblical command to observe Lent—so it’s purely by choice. In saying that, the aim of observing Lent is to reflect in a meaningful and embodied way upon Jesus’ journey to the cross so that we might take up our cross and follow him in response.
When done in a context of grace, the purpose of participating in Lent is all about remembering what Jesus has done in his death and the joy of partaking in his resurrection. We can’t grasp the heights of hope without being present in the depths of death—and Lent invites us to remember and engage in both.
How can I observe Lent?
There’s two ways we’re going to engage in the season of Lent at Resilient Rhythms. Feel free to join us in doing so within the context of grace—and knowing that this is all by invitation, not obligation.
1. Scripture Reading Plan: You can click here to access a forty day reading plan going through the four recorded eyewitness accounts of Jesus in roughly chronological order in the lead-up to Easter. We’d love to have you join us, or get a group together from your church or small group to read!
2. Engage in a Lent Rhythm: Over the next few days we’ll share about five rhythms to consider engaging in over the following forty days; fasting from something in your life, remembering death in an intentional way, regular repentance, daily Scripture reading, and intentional generosity and service.
May this be a season where you come to love the Lord Jesus more deeply.
