Lent is Exactly What We Need.

12 min. to read if you read all the footnotes, too.

Not many years ago, I observed Lent for the first time. I grew up Christian, but the church I was part of didn’t pay attention to the ancient liturgical calendar. Frankly, things like that were too “traditions of man” for us, and if I’m being honest, too Catholic. In our sectarian pride, we didn’t think those traditions held any value. It took me far too long to see that we were wrong.

Particularly right now. Look around. See the chaos, the discord, the way the “normal” stable order we’ve relied on is fraying. We need depth. These are times that call for deep roots, roots that will hold in the face of the gusting winds of uncertainty. That’s precisely what Lent is for.

If, like me, you didn’t grow up with Lent. I’d like to introduce you to it and invite you to observe this year. Perhaps I can help you see how this would benefit you. And if you’ve observed Lent all your life, perhaps my new eyes might give you a fresh perspective.

Note: This is adapted from my essay, “Why 40 days? Why Lent?” Found in my book, Walking Otherward: 40 Meditations on Following Jesus’ Path of Other-Centered, Co-Suffering Love.

Our Urgency Culture

Industrialization and market-driven techno-capitalism promise that our every need can be met just in time—if we can pay. The grocery store has tomatoes year round (even though most of the year, those tomatoes lack the qualities essential to a good tomato experience). A new computer or a set of plastic wall hooks can arrive in our driveway tomorrow (never mind that the delivery driver is penalized for taking bathroom breaks). That’s the spirit of the age: We want what we want when we want it, and that’s always now.

This seismic shift has changed many things about society and human experience. One of those changes is that many of us are losing touch with the seasons. For most of human history, the first and most impactful teacher who taught us how life worked was the natural world, and one of the most apparent lessons she offered was the cyclical passing of the seasons. There are seasons for rest and growth. There are seasons for productivity and seasons for recovery. The seasons last for a while, but, always they give way to the next season. We may try with air conditioners, climate-controlled vehicles, and fresh fruit flown from across the globe to defy this reality, and still, the seasons pass.

There is wisdom that comes from paying attention to the natural course of seasons. It’s a wisdom familiar to farmers and others who work outside. It’s a wisdom pre-industrialized cultures depended on. Try to plant in winter or harvest in spring, and your efforts will be wasted. Winter might feel long, but it’s not forever. Each season is productive in a different way. Winter’s rest is just as important as Spring’s planting or Fall’s harvest.

The Spiritual Life Has Seasons, Too.

Even though this lesson is obvious and the consequences of violating it can be seen in the world around us, the idea that seasons matter has fallen out of fashion in much of the Western church. Many of us were taught a way of being Christian that was a constant climb—always persisting, always faithful, always trying harder. Attend church every week. Serve in a ministry every week. Go to a Bible study or small group every week. Read your Bible every day. Pray without ceasing. We were over-awed by the example of faith heroes like Martin Luther, who is purported to have once said, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” OK, Martin.

The implication, strongly encouraged, was that when you didn’t stay faithful to this routine, you were backsliding. So, what would happen when circumstances or our inner needs required us to stop? The result for most was shame and the fear that perhaps we were falling away from God. There was no awareness in these churches that spiritual focus naturally waxes and wanes. There was no framework for understanding the waning as something other than faithlessness.

Here’s the truth we didn’t understand: The spiritual life can’t be run like a factory or a barracks. Entrepreneurial hustle won’t generate spiritual growth. A healthy inner life will have seasons. There will be times of intense focus and learning. Those seasons must be followed by times of rest and reflection. That’s when the deep inner work below our conscious awareness takes place. This isn’t something to fear or be ashamed of. It’s not evidence of a lack of dedication. It’s how life works. After all, a farmer who doesn’t get up early to plant during winter isn’t a lousy farmer. They are simply living in alignment with the seasons.

The ancient Hebrew text Ecclesiastes taught that paying attention to the seasons was a spiritual essential. “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven…a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted…a time to break down and a time to build up…”¹Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NRSVue. In our warp-speed culture, paying attention to the seasons, particularly the seasons that are less productive and more introspective, is an act of resistance.

The Particulars of Lent.

This kind of interior, reflective season is something you can practice any time you feel the need for it. There is, however, a specific period in the year when many Christians will be intentionally thinking this way—Lent. Lent is a 40-day fast that leads up to Easter. Most Christian denominations observe it. It wasn’t always a 40-day fast, but it’s always been a fast that leads up to the celebration of the Resurrection.²I say most because that’s true! The only Christian groups that don’t observe Lent are some Protestant churches on the Evangelical and Charismatic end of the pool. Lent is practiced by the Catholic, Episcopal, and Anglican Church, all the Christian Orthodox communions, as well as most Lutheran and Methodist churches. Because the date for Easter shifts annually,³Weird, right? The date for Easter, as celebrated in the Western Church (pretty much all of Christianity that isn’t Eastern Orthodox) was set at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. That date? The first Sunday that follows the new full moon on or immediately following the vernal equinox. So, you know… just like how we make appointments today. the beginning of Lent also shifts. It starts with Ash Wednesday, which is in late February or early March.⁴Ash Wednesday is forty-six days before Easter Sunday. Why forty-six? Because Lent is a fast, and since every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, there is no obligation to fast on Sundays. So, to get a 40-day fast, you need six extra days to account for Sundays. The earliest Ash Wednesday can be is February 4th. The latest is March 10th.

Lent is quite ancient. Evidence shows that by the end of the second century CE, most Christian churches were celebrating Pascha⁵The word in Greek is πασχα, pronounced pah-skuh., or the Feast of the Resurrection.⁶For example, in his church history (written in the 4th century CE), Eusebius relates a letter from Irenaeus to Pope Victor. This letter, which would have been written in the late 2nd century, detailed the arguments between various groups regarding the exact and proper dating of the Passion and Resurrection and how to celebrate it. It’s interesting to note that Irenaeus supports his view by attributing them to his ancestors. If that’s true, it puts the celebration of Easter within a generation or two of the resurrection. (Schaff and Wace, Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of Constantine. Vol. 1., Book V, Chapter 24) At that time, it was common practice to baptize new Christians on the Sunday of the Resurrection. Part of preparing those preparing for baptism, also called the Catechumens, was a fast for spiritual refection and purification. In some regions, the fast was 24 hours; in others, it was three days. Over time, the fast got longer. 4th century documents mention Lent lasting 40 days. In the 6th century, Pope Gregory standardized the length of Lent, added Ash Wednesday, and established the pattern of a church-wide fast, except for Sundays, which are always celebrations of the resurrection. Lent has remained this way for the past fifteen hundred years.

This forty-day period appears in scripture in several places. Famously, Moses communed with God on Mt. Sinai, and Jesus resisted temptation in the wilderness for forty days. This is a window of focus long enough to shift your behavior and thinking, but it’s also not unending. It’s an opportunity to stick with something for a season, even when it doesn’t offer an immediate payoff. At the same time, it’s a manageable period of focus that will come to an end. That ending creates space for reflection, rest, and the natural breathing-in-breathing-out of spiritual growth.

Of course, Christians didn’t invent fasting. In most ancient cultures, fasting was a way to prepare the body and spirit for something significant, like a coming-of-age ceremony, a spiritual journey, or taking certain vows. Fasting was a regular practice in Judaism, and since almost all the first Christians were Jewish, it makes sense that this practice would find its way into Christianity. We who live in a world of historic abundance tend to think of fasts primarily as intentional deprivation, but in the ancient world, where most were poor and always had less than they needed, this was not the case. A religious fast was primarily a period of focus and purification. It was a time for intentional repentance, reparation, and renewal of spiritual commitment.

From that ancient intent, Christians who observe Lent are encouraged to commit to a period of increased spiritual practice. That might include giving up certain things as a means of increasing attention to the spiritual life. It might mean setting aside certain obligations and opening more time to devote to spiritual practice. It might include an intentional period of reconciliation, seeking to make things right with others. It often also consists of an increased focus on spiritual practices like daily scripture reading and meditation, prayers, and other practices that focus on the interior life.

There is a tendency, especially among those of us who’ve grown up in legalistic religion, to see these things as obligations and spiritual performance. If that’s your background (as it is mine), it’s important to note that none of this is meant to gain credit or approval from God or to perform our religion for others’ approval. We are already profoundly loved and accepted. Spiritual practices don’t force growth to happen. Growth is the work of the Spirit that happens according to the timeline of the Spirit. But practices like these can be a part of our training in maturity, helping us to practice being present to God. The bonus of Lent is that when you participate, you join countless Christians worldwide and across time who have found this season of introspection and spiritual focus meaningful.

A Short Starter’s Guide to Lent.

If you’ve never observed Lent, here’s some guidance to get you started.

First, locate a Liturgical church near you with an Ash Wednesday service. This will include Catholic, Anglican, and Episcopalian churches, as well as many Lutheran and Methodist churches. You can even find some independent and non-denominational churches that have started observing Lent. You can expect the service to be quiet, reflective, and meditative. You will also receive the mark of Ashes, a long-standing symbol that reminds us that “from dust we came and to dust we will return.”

Second, consider how you want to fast. Again, the point is not to avoid food or to give up things you enjoy arbitrarily. Your purpose is to make an intentional choice to set aside certain things so that you can focus on other things that contribute to your season of spiritual reflection. Think about habits that occupy your attention and keep you living in cycles of attachment and striving. Think about daily activities that create turbulence in your heart. An easy fast to choose in our culture is to set aside social media and other internet consumption, deciding for a period not to allow your in-between moments to default to scrolling and consuming.

Third, decide what you will incorporate into your life to encourage spiritual reflection. The point of the fast is to clear space for something better. What might that be for you? Starting a journaling practice? Reading scripture? Perhaps focusing on a slow read of a particular book? Using another book to give you a focus for reflection? Participating in some kind of community group? Engaging in a daily act of service?

Fourth, keep the goal in mind. Lent does not stand alone. It is the path that leads to the resurrection. Lent is when the seeds you’ve planted in the garden lie invisible beneath the surface so they can sprout and bloom at Easter. Your season of interior reflection will lead you to a new session of growth and service in the world.

I invite you to join me. I’d be delighted to hear what you learn.

• 1
  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, NRSVue.
• 2
  I say most because that’s true! The only Christian groups that don’t observe Lent are some Protestant churches on the Evangelical and Charismatic end of the pool. Lent is practiced by the Catholic, Episcopal, and Anglican Church, all the Christian Orthodox communions, as well as most Lutheran and Methodist churches.
• 3
  Weird, right? The date for Easter, as celebrated in the Western Church (pretty much all of Christianity that isn’t Eastern Orthodox) was set at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. That date? The first Sunday that follows the new full moon on or immediately following the vernal equinox. So, you know… just like how we make appointments today.
• 4
  Ash Wednesday is forty-six days before Easter Sunday. Why forty-six? Because Lent is a fast, and since every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, there is no obligation to fast on Sundays. So, to get a 40-day fast, you need six extra days to account for Sundays. The earliest Ash Wednesday can be is February 4th. The latest is March 10th.
• 5
  The word in Greek is πασχα, pronounced pah-skuh.
• 6
  For example, in his church history (written in the 4th century CE), Eusebius relates a letter from Irenaeus to Pope Victor. This letter, which would have been written in the late 2nd century, detailed the arguments between various groups regarding the exact and proper dating of the Passion and Resurrection and how to celebrate it. It’s interesting to note that Irenaeus supports his view by attributing them to his ancestors. If that’s true, it puts the celebration of Easter within a generation or two of the resurrection. (Schaff and Wace, Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of Constantine. Vol. 1., Book V, Chapter 24)