Lent - why?
All my life I'd heard about Lent. I'd seen the kids at school with the gray crosses on their foreheads. I'd heard people talking about making sacrifices. Some of the more devout would follow through on their willing sacrifices of something petty such as lima beans or rabbit and squirrel meat. I knew promiscuous people who would fast on sex during Lent, only to cut loose after Easter and make up for lost time. I never met a single soul who honestly and truly fasted during Lent as a holy experience. Still, there were some tuggings in my heart.
Traditionally, the Church of Christ do not observe the church calendar as it is not mentioned in the New Testament. They do not observe Advent or Lent, Easter is not a holy day and neither is Christmas. They believe these are neo-pagan observations of seasons that have no meaning. They tell us that every day should be celebrated as a holy day; not just the special days that men have set aside.
On Sunday, our minister reflected briefly on Lent. Many were taken aback, myself included. But what he had to say made a lot of sense. The Tradition of Lent is one that gives people an opportunity to reflect on the Passion God has for His creation. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die a painful death, that He may conquer death, that we may have life. Our minister asked what we would sacrifice if we were asked and let it drop, moving on with the sermon which was unrelated to Lent.
Lent was instituted by the early Church around the second century. The goal was to ask people to focus on Christ, not their earthly lives. 40 days would be the time (the Orthodox church observes 50 or 58), starting on Ash Wednesday and ending the Saturday before Easter. The name comes from an Anglo-Saxon word, 'lencten' which means lengthen - the days in Spring get longer or lengthen during this period. Carnival is a latin term that means removal of meat (carni) as those fasting would eat no meat for the 40 days.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season as Christians, in the ancient tradition, put on ashes to indicate mourning. As we reflect on Christ's ultimate sacrifice, His life for ours, it is inevitable we think about death so we put on ashes.
There are those who see Lent differently. Rather than see it as a time of reflection, they see it as a time of imposed restrictions. They lead up to their loss by indulging in all manner of sin and excess on Fat Tuesday (or, Mardi [Tuesday] Gras [fat] in French). They then demonstrate their faithfulness by abstaining from the sins and excesses for the next several weeks.
It is after careful and prayerful consideration that I have decided to observe Lent this year by fasting. I will make sacrifices of my own, including abstaining from things that take my time away from my Lord and foods that are not in my health's best interest. Among these are chat forums I attend and time-wasting web-surfing. I will continue to blog and read e-mail. If I need to download something or maintain my webserver, I will, of course, be on the internet. That is my chosen field of work. But, just to kill time by looking up pictures of atomic bomb explosions (yes, that's a favorite past-time of mine), that's gonna stop. I will devote the extra time to reading the scriptures and praying, which is why Lent was started in the first place.
I appreciate the information I received from the following online sources:
A History of Lent: Ancient Opportunity for Spiritual Renewal by Rev. Dr. Richard P. Bucher, Pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Definitions: Ash Wednesday ThisisChurch.com - What does it mean...? by St. Mark's Church Community Centre and Putnoe Heights Church Centre, Bedford, England
Seasons of the Christian Church The Seasons of the Church Year by Dennis Bratcher for CRI/The Voice also at www.crivoice.org.
Traditionally, the Church of Christ do not observe the church calendar as it is not mentioned in the New Testament. They do not observe Advent or Lent, Easter is not a holy day and neither is Christmas. They believe these are neo-pagan observations of seasons that have no meaning. They tell us that every day should be celebrated as a holy day; not just the special days that men have set aside.
On Sunday, our minister reflected briefly on Lent. Many were taken aback, myself included. But what he had to say made a lot of sense. The Tradition of Lent is one that gives people an opportunity to reflect on the Passion God has for His creation. He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to die a painful death, that He may conquer death, that we may have life. Our minister asked what we would sacrifice if we were asked and let it drop, moving on with the sermon which was unrelated to Lent.
Lent was instituted by the early Church around the second century. The goal was to ask people to focus on Christ, not their earthly lives. 40 days would be the time (the Orthodox church observes 50 or 58), starting on Ash Wednesday and ending the Saturday before Easter. The name comes from an Anglo-Saxon word, 'lencten' which means lengthen - the days in Spring get longer or lengthen during this period. Carnival is a latin term that means removal of meat (carni) as those fasting would eat no meat for the 40 days.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season as Christians, in the ancient tradition, put on ashes to indicate mourning. As we reflect on Christ's ultimate sacrifice, His life for ours, it is inevitable we think about death so we put on ashes.
There are those who see Lent differently. Rather than see it as a time of reflection, they see it as a time of imposed restrictions. They lead up to their loss by indulging in all manner of sin and excess on Fat Tuesday (or, Mardi [Tuesday] Gras [fat] in French). They then demonstrate their faithfulness by abstaining from the sins and excesses for the next several weeks.
It is after careful and prayerful consideration that I have decided to observe Lent this year by fasting. I will make sacrifices of my own, including abstaining from things that take my time away from my Lord and foods that are not in my health's best interest. Among these are chat forums I attend and time-wasting web-surfing. I will continue to blog and read e-mail. If I need to download something or maintain my webserver, I will, of course, be on the internet. That is my chosen field of work. But, just to kill time by looking up pictures of atomic bomb explosions (yes, that's a favorite past-time of mine), that's gonna stop. I will devote the extra time to reading the scriptures and praying, which is why Lent was started in the first place.
I appreciate the information I received from the following online sources:
A History of Lent: Ancient Opportunity for Spiritual Renewal by Rev. Dr. Richard P. Bucher, Pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
Definitions: Ash Wednesday ThisisChurch.com - What does it mean...? by St. Mark's Church Community Centre and Putnoe Heights Church Centre, Bedford, England
Seasons of the Christian Church The Seasons of the Church Year by Dennis Bratcher for CRI/The Voice also at www.crivoice.org.
posted by ClayMan at 5:12 AM
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