Today is Ash Wednesday, the day that begins the season of Lent. Lent is a 40 day (excluding Sundays) season of preparation and penitence that runs from today until Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). Why exclude Sundays? Each Sunday is to be observed as a “little Easter,” and therefore cannot be part of Lent. The name comes from an anglo-saxon word “lencten,” which means Spring. Not only does Lent and Easter occur in the Spring each year, it also can be a “spring” in our life as we think about the new growth that can come from our rededicating ourselves to the spiritual discipline of faith.
Historically, Lent was a period of fasting and preparation for baptism by converts to the faith. It has come to represent a period of penance by all Christians. Lent is marked by self-denial, either by fasting, giving up a pleasure, or taking up an additional spiritual discipline.
During these days, the community of faith travels with Jesus toward Jerusalem; Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and finally, the joy of the resurrection on Easter morning.
In addition to our individual spiritual disciplines and penance, as a community we engage in a Lenten Study, aimed at enhancing our understanding of Holy Week. The Lenten Study will begin this Sunday during our Faith Enrichment hour at 9:00 a.m. The resource is The Third Day: Living the Resurrection, by Tom Berlin.
It is my Lenten prayer that each of us might assume a Lenten discipline and draw more closely to Jesus as we move toward Jerusalem, and our eternal future.
See you tonight-and Sunday,
Paul