What is Lent?
Simply, it is a period of the liturgical year that leads into Holy Week and the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Lent is celebrated for the 40 days (minus Sundays) prior to Resurrection Day, or Easter. It is generally used to mimic the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness.
Why should we celebrate Lent?
Per my understanding, not being a strictly liturgical Christian, the liturgical calendar with all feasts and celebrations are designed to get our hearts closer to Jesus by remembering Him and His life. Lent is a great way to remember what Jesus did in the wilderness, prayer and fasting, and how that resembled the Israelites 40 year journey through the wilderness. Lent is also a great tool to prepare our hearts, minds, and bodies, both individually and corporately, for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection which is foundational to our faith.
How do we celebrate Lent?
In most traditions, Lent is celebrated with Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, or any combination of these. Most see Lent as a time to 'give up' or 'take up' a certain behavior. This is certainly one way to celebrate. When we 'give up' something, we are to use this as a tool to pray. Every time you miss what you have given up, whether it's something mental or physical, you are reminded to pray. This is a way in which prayer and fasting go hand in hand. Almsgiving is often overlooked, but it is traditionally the giving to or helping of those less fortunate.
Currently, most Christians look for interpretations of fasting and almsgiving, meaning not literal fasting from food or giving of money to the poor. So, you may hear of Christians giving up soda or sweets or volunteering at a soup kitchen or giving away unused household items or toys. This is one of the reasons that Lent is a very personal liturgical celebration that plays out corporately. The idea is that each person is sacrificing personally and drawing closer to Jesus to overcome their temptation which affects the corporate body of believers who are all celebrating this season.
Is it wrong for non-Catholics or non-liturgicals to celebrate Lent?
I don't think any Catholic or liturgical friends would beat you up for it. And I don't think any of your true Christian brethren would either. Most Catholic or liturgicals would probably enjoy the opportunity to share with you and some of your brethren might like to know more. Ultimately you should discern for yourself what God would have you to do. Remember, "All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." (1 Cor 10:23-24 ESV)
What will celebrating Lent look like for me?
Generally it is accepted that people talk about 'how they celebrate Lent.' You'll hear lots of people talking about 'what they're giving up or taking up for Lent.' I think that's fine, but we need to try not to go overboard. We are told in Matthew 6:16-18, "And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." In other words, try not to complain or make yourself some sort of paragon of faith for what you're doing or giving up. Just do it and do it well, heartily unto the Lord.
Now, having said all this, I'd like to give a general rundown of how I plan to celebrate Lent this year. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent and is on 5 March, this year.
3 March - (also the Hubs birthday) I plan to give a short lesson for Chas about what Lent is and common traditions, mostly the beginning of this, as well as, Scripture reading on the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
4 March - Shrove Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Shrove comes from the word Shrive, which means confess. This is the day before the sacrifice of Lent begins, which is the origin of Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras. It was a time of feasting before the fast. I'll also give a lesson on this for school. I'll also have a little 'feast' for dinner that night as well as a time of confession before we begin Lent.
5 March - Ash Wednesday. Most who celebrate Lent go to special services and receive the mark of the cross in ash on their forehead. I'm not sure we will make it to any services, but we may have our own (without ashes). I really want to bring out the ideas of using ashes as a sign of mourning.
6 March - Usually each individual picks out what they are doing before Lent begins and they are already doing it. I have several ideas for myself (more on that later), but on this day I'll present Chas with my 'suggestion' as to what to do and let him brainstorm some ideas, too. We'll make a list as well as a couple of index cards with verses to use to succeed. After all, Jesus combatted his temptation in the wilderness with Scripture!
7 March - This will be a review day. I'll try to reiterate why we are doing what we're doing and what it means. I also really want Chas to make it his own without me forcing something on him. I know he'll get more out of it that way.
8 March - I don't know how it'll go over with the fam, but I want to take my Saturdays as a true 'fast' day and Sabbath. I'll have one meal, but that'll be it. I don't know if I can succeed, but I really want to at least try. Hopefully it will be a way to prepare my heart for the worship services the next day.
9 March - This is the first Sunday of Lent. As I said, Sundays are not included in Lent, so this may be used as a 'cheat' day depending on what Chas has chosen to do. We may also do the Scripture readings from the Lectionary (or on Monday).
After the first week, it'll be more low-key until Holy Week (I hope to make a separate post about how we'll celebrate that later.) Here are a few things that I'll be trying to do:
- More exercise, not taking the closest parking spot
- Going to bed and waking up at set times
- Not hitting the snooze button (more than one time) :)
- Eat more simply
- Weekly 'fast' on Saturday (only one meal)
- Be more intentional (including a reinstating of THE Schedule)
- Use cash only, no debit card unless absolutely necessary (and a milkshake isn't necessary)
- Practice more meditation on God's Word, not just prayer, reading, and study
- Do one 'fun' activity for school a week
- Blog more, at least weekly (this is for me, since I'm pretty sure no one actually reads it)
- Write one letter or card to a friend a week
- Give my 'extra' loaf of bread away (and baking it more regularly)
I saw a really neat idea that I plan to implement (Here's the original post ). It's called a 'Sacrifice Jar.' Each of us (The Hubs, Chas, & I) will have a jar and every time we succeed at a task (No snooze! No complaining! One letter sent!) or when we've been tempted and called on Jesus to overcome, we'll place one 'seed' (in my case it'll be a black-eyed pea) in the jar. It's a visual representation of accomplishment, but it serves another purpose. On Resurrection Day Eve, I'll replace the peas with M&M's or another treat. And to show grace, the number of treats won't be based on the number of peas but will be overflowing from the jar. We don't do Easter, or the Easter bunny, or Easter baskets, so treats are lacking that morning anyway. I don't feel guilty about that, but I just love this illustration of God's grace. It doesn't matter how much you've failed or succeeded, your cup can still run over because He is Risen!!
So, there are my lofty, lofty goals. I'm sure I'll succeed at some and fail miserably at others. That's life, right? However, I can't let the fear of failure keep me from trying.
