What is Lent?
Lent is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter and is a reminder of the 40 days of fasting undertaken by Jesus before beginning his ministry. Lent concludes with the joyful celebration of Easter.
For over 1500 years Christians have prepared for celebrating the resurrection from the dead of Jesus by a season of fasting. This time provides an opportunity to slow down and reflect on the nature of life. An early thinker in the church once said “the glory of God is a human being fully alive.” Lent is the time in which one can ask, “how have I not been fully alive?” The word Lent derives from the old Germanic word for to spring time and references the lengthening of days. As the sun goes higher in the sky in the northern hemisphere people began to reflect on the return of life after the long winter. Plants began to grow again; and the scarcity of winter food would soon be replaced by springtime fruits. Although many think of Christianity as a faith that denies life, in fact Christianity affirms all life and celebrates that God is a part of the world around us. A season of repentance asks that we acknowledge the ways that our own actions contribute to harm in the world around us and in our own lives and to recognize that by returning to God we are returning to Life. Lent calls us to be compassionate and to return to the simple teaching of Jesus – Love One Another.
Why ashes? Ashes since time immemorial have been a symbol of repentance and engaging with one’s own smallness in the face of trials and struggles. Ashes reconnect us with the human experience and remind us that though we may fall short in our actions we have the gift of being fully alive held out to us, especially by participating in a community of love.
An ecological or “green” note about Lent. In the past century humans have made an impact on the planet with still unimaginable consequences. Our emissions are polluting the atmosphere, our plastics are breaking down into the very molecular fabric of the ocean and our way of life contributes every day to destruction of the nature systems that sustain life. Observing Lent provides an opportunity for us to reconnect with the seasons and cycles of life. Remember that in all things there must be a death, and yet the world reminds us each year that life returns. There is a call to be a people who celebrate life and to protect nature, and nature helps remind us of life. In the next forty days ask how you can repent from destructive environmental practices and be a part of returning life.
