Lent - Part 1

For the next week we are going to be looking at several attributes associated with the period of time known in liturgical churches as Lent. Lent actually began Wednesday, February 13th, this year (I know… I’m two days late). In the calendar of Western Christianity, the first day of Lent occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a “moveable fast,” falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4th or as late as March 10th. That’s the “when.” What’s the “why”? According to the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke; Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, during which he was tempted by Satan. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of this 40-day liturgical period of prayer and fasting. We can see one of those references in today’s reading: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. (Matthew 4:1-11 ESV). We should not miss the significance of this experience at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. The devil was offering what appeared to be an alternate plan to that which God had communicated to Jesus. It is clear from the tremendous stress and prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that the cross was not something that Jesus blithely took on. The pain and suffering were real. He knew that the path God had chosen for him was most difficult and completely undeserved. Stan comes and offers an easier path. That easier path is always the alternative presented by the world and the devil. The practice of some kind of fast during Lent is intended to provide the believer with a tangible reminder of the cost of discipleship being higher more often than not. I love the quote from Clarence Jordan, author of the “Cotton Patch” New Testament translation and founder of the interracial Koinonia farm in Americus, Georgia. He was getting a red-carpet tour of another minister’s church when the minister pointed to the rich, imported pews and luxurious decorations. As they stepped outside, darkness was falling, and a spotlight shone on a huge cross atop the steeple. “That cross alone cost us ten thousand dollars,” the minister said with a satisfied smile. “You got cheated,” said Jordan. “Times were when Christians could get them for free.” Lent calls us to a cross!