A Guide To Lent

What is Lent?

Lent is the season preceding Easter in the Christian calendar. It names the 40 days prior to Easter (not including Sundays*). It is traditionally a time when Christians seek to join with Jesus in preparation for ministry and life through prayer and fasting. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and culminates in the Easter morning celebration of the resurrection.

Why Lent?

To participate in Lent is to join with Jesus. At the beginning of Christ’s ministry, right after he was baptized and declared the Son of God by the descending of the Spirit and the word of God from heaven (see Luke 3:21-23), he was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1-13) to be tempted. While we don’t know exactly what happened there, we know that Jesus spent time praying and fasting in preparation for temptation and for ministry. Jesus knew that disciplining himself and spending time with his Father was necessary to prepare him for what was coming.

When we participate in Lent, we join with Jesus in preparing ourselves, or allowing ourselves to be prepared, for what God has for us in the coming year. We join with Jesus in prayer, seeking the wisdom and the counsel of our Father. We join with Jesus in fasting as we seek to discipline our bodies, recognizing that we are whole beings, body and soul. We join with Jesus in denying ourselves and in pursuing the purpose of God for all of us.

Hey, isn’t this a Catholic thing?

Lent has certainly been around for a long time, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is solely the province of the Roman Catholic Church. Anything that draws us closer to God in Christ is something worth exploring, and particularly something that has a long history of participation. There are churches around the world that follow the traditional calendar of the Christian church, which divides the year into different celebrations of God’s work and blessing. The beautiful thing about Lent is that there is no one set way of participation, but we are able as the Church of Christ to follow Jesus in our own particular contexts.

How to Participate

As you can see above, Lent is all about participation, joining together with Jesus. There are many different ways to participate, but some of the common themes are prayer and fasting.

If you’re struggling to pray, it may be wise to begin by joining with Jesus in praying the prayer he taught his disciples to pray: the Lord’s Prayer. You can find different versions in the gospels but a good place to start is Matthew 6:9-13.

When it comes to fasting, there are all sorts of different options. Some people choose to fast from food, some from food and drink (but at least have some water, and make sure you’re up to it before you fast for 40 days!), but others choose things that often take up time and focus in life, like electronics or the internet. Some have chosen a fast from social media, and some from non-work-related emails and texts. Whatever it is you choose, you’re choosing to fast so that your time and focus can be better spent on Jesus. If you’re fasting from lunch, take that time for prayer and reflection. If you’re fasting from social media, then pay attention to when your hand reaches for your phone, and instead say the Lord’s Prayer, or call someone who matters to you and ask how you can pray for them. This is not rigid legalism but an opportunity to draw closer to Jesus!

*Sunday is considered a non-fast day, as Sunday is for Christians a constant “little Easter” – a celebration of the resurrected Jesus. We therefore do not count Sundays in the 40 days.