- Lent is a special season of the Christian calendar which is filled with grace and entails self-discipline and denial in replication of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, renewal of the Church, and renewal of personal baptism or conversion to Christ. Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, and the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday. However, today it is more of a season of introspection and reflection, self-examination, repentance and penance, prayer and preparation before the celebrations of Easter. Thus, while Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus, Lent recalls the events leading up to and including Jesus’ crucifixion.
- Originating in the fourth century of the Church, Lent is the period of 40 days (less the six Sundays in between) which comes before Easter Sunday, beginning on Ash Wednesday, which this year is on the 5th of March. The Lent period ending with Holy Week is a period of 46 days. However, since Sundays celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, on “the day after the Sabbath,” “the first day of the week,” “the Lord’s Day, the six Sundays that occur during Lent are not counted as part of the 40 days of Lent and are referred to as the Sundays in Lent. Thus, while some fast for 46 days, most fast only for 40 days, supporting this, as mentioned, with penitential prayer and almsgiving.
- By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians replicate Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days. 40 is a significant number in Jewish-Christian scripture: The forty days commemorate the significant “forty” periods in Scripture. The flood which destroyed the earth was brought about by 40 days and nights of rain. The Hebrews spent 40years in the wilderness before reaching the land promised to them by God. Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Jonah preached to Nineveh that God’s judgment would come on them in forty days. During that time the people repented and thus were spared God’s judgment. Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness in preparation for his ministry, and Christians regard Jesus’ time in the wilderness as the key event for the duration of Lent. Jesus prophesied that God’s judgment would come against Israel for rejecting Him as Messiah within the time of His own generation (Matt. 24; Luke 21; Mark 13). Within forty years of His death, burial, and resurrection, Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple was so ravaged that “not one stone [was] left here upon another” (Matt. 24:2). The Jewish Christians, however, escaped this judgment of God by fleeing to Pella before the final Roman siege, just as Jesus had warned them to do (Matt. 24:16-21).
- Psalm 139:23 – 24 says “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me.” This underscores what we do in Lent. One is to face the reality of the consequences of sin and the terrible toll it takes on the world, calling us to examine our own lives with the prayer and fasting. Another is to humbly place ourselves before God. It is a way to confess our total inadequacy before God, to strip ourselves bare of all pretences to righteousness, to come before God in dust and ashes. It is a way to empty ourselves of our false pride, of our rationalizations that prevent us from seeing ourselves as needy creatures, of our external piety that blinds us to the beam in our own eyes.
- Through prayer that gives up self, we seek to open ourselves up before God, and to hear anew the call “Come unto me!” We seek to recognize and respond afresh to God’s presence in our lives and in our world. We seek to place our needs, our fears, our failures, our hopes, our very lives in God’s hands again. And we seek by abandoning ourselves in Jesus’ death to recognize again who God is, to allow His transforming grace to work in us once more, and to come to worship Him on Easter Sunday with a fresh victory and hope that goes beyond the new clothes, the spring flowers, and the happy music. Accordingly, lent is a celebration that begins in ashes, journeys though darkness, as a spiritual pilgrimage for genuine spiritual renewal to come.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 says: “. . . if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” This tells us that our intercessory prayer during lent must be penitential prayer for the faith community, for us. It is not to call for others to repent; it is a call for us, God’s people, to repent. It is our land that needs healing, it is our wicked ways from which we need to turn, we are the ones who need to seek God’s face. This is particularly true of a nation that is divided, troubled and in turmoil, led by a set of unjust, wicked and corrupt leaders and filled with a citizenry of like disposition.
- Fasting is observed in different ways. While some Christians observe a rigid schedule of fasting on certain days during Lent, and also giving up of meat, alcohol, sweets, and other types of food, others do not place as great an emphasis on fasting, but focus on withdrawal from festivities, others on charitable deeds, especially helping those in physical need with food and clothing, or simply the giving of money to charities.
- Fasting times are also observed in different ways, but it is traditionally from the beginning of the day at 12:00 midnight to 6pm the day after. However, it could be run till noon, or 3pm. In some climes fasting is observed between 6am and 12:00 noon, 6am and 3pm, and. 6am and 6pm. Whatever the case, it’s about self-denial and discipline. Desirable for the soul as fasting is, it is not mandatory. One is thus well within bounds not to fast if one’s condition does not permit.
- The Church uses different colours during the year, each symbolizing different things. The liturgical colour used by the Church during Lent is Purple or Violet – for that season symbolizing humility, penance and wisdom. It will be recalled that Christ was robed in violet at His mistrial just before His crucifixion. It should also be noted that in the last week of lent other colours are used. Further, purple last symbolizes the Servant Kingship of Christ. who, being in very nature God, rather made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. The colour reminds us to be Christlike.
1 Comment
Tolu Okeowo
This post beautifully capture the essence of this sacred season – its call to humility, repentance, and renewal. The emphasis on Lent as a time for introspection and self-examination is a powerful reminder to strip away our pretenses and stand bare before God. The call to intercessory prayer for our communities and nations is especially timely, challenging us to seek God’s face and turn from our own “wicked ways”, particularly in our country, Nigeria, which often marked by division and turmoil.
The heart of Lent indeed lies not in rigid rules but in the spirit of self-denial and discipline, tailored to our individual circumstances. It’s comforting to know that Lent is ultimately about drawing closer to God, allowing His grace to transform us from within, regardless of how we observe the season.
As we journey through these 40 days together, may we all embrace the call to humility, prayer, and repentance. May we all support one another in this spiritual pilgrimage, so that we may emerge on Easter Sunday with renewed hearts and a deeper sense of God’s presence in our lives.