Lent Primer

Lent is a forty-day season of spiritual preparation leading to the celebration of Good Friday and Easter. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the heart of the Christian gospel, and Good Friday and Easter are two of the most significant celebrations of the Christian year. Just as we carefully prepare for big events in our personal lives, such as a wedding or commencement, Lent invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion and celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.

The word “lent” is related to the word for spring. During Lent there is a sense that darkness is fleeing and light is growing.

The practice of a forty-day preparation period began in the Christian church during the third and fourth centuries. The number forty is based on the forty years Israel spent in the wilderness and Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wilderness. The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday and continue through holy week, not counting Sundays (which are always days to celebrate the resurrection.) Lent has historically included the instruction of persons for baptism and profession of faith on Easter Sunday. It has become a time for Christians to deepen our connection to Christ by taking up various spiritual practices.

Lent is not a practice mentioned in the Bible, but a season some Christians have used to renew our relationship to Christ. It is not essential that Christians observe Lent, but it can be a helpful practice in examining our faith and moving closer to Jesus.

Shrove Tuesday:

Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday or Mardi Gras) is the final day before Lent begins. It is a day of feasting before the fasting days of Lent. It became a tradition to eat Pancakes and other sweets before people fasted from such during Lent.  To shrive is to be absolved or forgiven.

Ash Wednesday:

This is the first day of Lent. Many churches hold services where people are marked with the sign of the cross in ashes on their foreheads. This has been a practice of Christians for about one thousand years.

The ancient sign of ashes comes from the Bible.  When people were sorry for their sin before God, or were grieving, they would throw ashes on their head as a symbol of their sorrow.  Ashes are also a symbol of our mortality.

The aim of Ash Wednesday worship is to meditate on our mortality, sinfulness, and need of a Savior; to renew our commitment to follow Christ; and to remember with confidence and gratitude that Christ has conquered death and sin.

Scripture passage: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17

Palm Sunday:

This begins Holy Week which commemorates the final week of Jesus’ life before he was crucified and risen.  Palm Sunday remembers when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey to much fanfare while people spread palm branches on the ground to honor him.

Scripture passage: Matthew 21:1-11

Maundy Thursday:

On Maundy Thursday the church remembers the last evening Jesus shared with his disciples in the upper room before his arrest and crucifixion. Maundy Thursday marks three key events in Jesus’ last week: his washing of his disciples’ feet, his institution of the Lord’s Supper, and his new commandment to love one another. The name “Maundy Thursday” comes from the Latin mandatum novum,referring to the “new commandment” Jesus taught his disciples to love one another as he loved them. (John 13:34). In other words, this is “new commandment Thursday.”

Scripture passages: John 13, Mark 14:22-25

Good Friday:

Perhaps the most important day for Christians next to Easter, Good Friday marks when Jesus went to the cross.  It is called “good” because it is by his sacrifice that we are forgiven and reconciled to God. Christians gather to remember the cross and reflect on how God so loved us that he gave his only Son to bring us to him. Scripture passage: Luke 23:32-49

Easter Sunday:

This glorious day is all about Jesus Christ risen from the dead and ends the season of Lent. Some churches will have special worship services at sunrise to remember how the women went to Jesus’ tomb as the sun was just coming up but could not find the body of Jesus.  This is the day when we raise our hallelujah to Christ our king who conquered death. Scripture passage: John 20:1-18