Lent starts tomorrow, can you believe it? Easter is coming early this year, and I don’t know about you, but it’s really mixing me up. Time seems to fly anymore anyway… days fly by in what seems to be hours. Weeks are done in just a few days. Months fly by in just a week or two. So for Easter to be coming in, what seems to me, the middle of winter is, I suppose, just par for the course. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What is Lent anyway though? We go through the rituals each year, but do we really stop to remember what it’s supposed to be about? Here’s how the UMC defines it (link at the bottom of this post):
“Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, meaning “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of spring. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early church, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by new converts and then became a time of penance by all Christians. Today, Christians focus on relationship with God, growing as disciples and extending ourselves, often choosing to give up something or to volunteer and give of ourselves for others.
Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter." This is why you will see the designation "Sunday in Lent" rather than "Sunday of Lent" in the naming of these Sundays. On each Lord's Day in Lent, while Lenten fasts continue, the reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the Resurrection.”
The 40 days of Lent represent the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. We spend an entire lifetime doing the same thing, really. Satan is just around the next corner every step of our life… ready to tempt without even seeming too sometimes… ready to influence our decisions in whatever way possible. Satan twists the truth, creates lies and half-truths, and can even make us think that we’re completely right when, in fact, we are completely and totally wrong in the eyes of God.
Lent is a time of contrition… a time to reevaluate ourselves and our lives and repent of our sins. It’s a time of contemplation… a time to look at ourselves, where we are in our lives, and reset our focus on what we need to do going forward.
Jesus commands us to look after each other, and love each other. That is the single best reason to take this opportunity of the Lenten season to do something for other people. Help someone that you know needs a helping hand. Go through your pantry and find a box of food, toiletries, and paper goods to donate to S.A.F.E. Sit down and send out some greeting cards to folks… not just the shut-ins, but just anyone. Everyone loves getting cards in the mail, just to know someone is thinking of them. Volunteer to help at one of the church functions, or on one of the committees at church. Bring hope and joy to someone’s life, even if it seems like it’s just a small gesture. You never know what someone is going through. It could be that your small gesture is the very light that someone needs in their life today!
Just as the sun warms the earth and makes the flowers bloom, so should you and your light shine into the world and bring hope and joy to those around you. Do small things in great ways. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming ideas… start with something small. Then just keep that up!!
Wishing you hope and peace and joy this Lenten Season.
Reference: https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-what-is-lent-and-why-does-it-last-forty-days
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Published Feb. 21, 2023
by Jackie Garrison
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