2025 Week 12
Hello, Springers!
As we head toward the second Sunday in Lent, it seems good to me to ask the question, does it matter? Do Christians have to observe this 40-day period before Easter?
The short answer is no. We are not bound by traditional observances from the historical church. But if an old tradition can teach us something and we can make that old tradition meaningful today for us in our place and time, perhaps it is not a bad idea to observe Lent.
Then what does it mean to “observe” Lent?
There is an old tradition where people give up something for Lent. It is to fast from something particular. I know folks who have given up chocolate or social media for 40 days. Strict Roman Catholics will fast from meat on Fridays during Lent. (Now you know why you see so many fish frys advertised in front of Catholic churches in this season!) While fasting is a practice that Jesus expects his followers to use, this is not what I define as observing Lent.
The time frame of forty days appears several times in the Bible. It is typically associated with something new.
In Noah’s time, the rain that would judge the earth came for 40 days and 40 nights (Genesis 7:4), and then something new came. God promised never to judge the earth again by water. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving the whole of God’s law (Exodus 24:18), and then something new came. The people lived under a new command as God led them through the wilderness. Elijah spent 40 days and nights on Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8) as God began to turn the hearts of his people back to himself.
Observing Lent is offering 40 days to God and asking him to do something new in your life – now – this year!
We use the phrase “turning over a new leaf” to mean the same thing. In ancient times, pages in a book were called leaves. New things come when we turn the page to a new chapter in our lives.
Turning always involves turning from and turning toward. If there is a brick wall in front of you and an open door behind you, at the moment you turn from the wall you are also turning toward the door. In the Christian life we label the turning from as repentance. We label the turning toward as faith. That’s the whole of the Christian life – repentance and faith.
The moment you put your faith in Christ you are turning toward him. At that same moment you are forsaking, or turning from, everything that is opposed to him. You are repenting.
To observe Lent is to spend 40 days intentionally focused on turning toward Jesus, in other words, growing in faith. It is also rooting out those things in our lives we need to turn from. God, will you show us anew what we need to repent of?
A great place to learn more and go deeper in this conversation about Faith and Repentance is during our Listen and Learn time at 6:30pm on Wednesday nights during Lent right after you have a great meal at 5:30. Belong, Eat, Listen, and Learn all throughout Lent.
in Christ,
Pastor Tag