This week we move out of the season of Epiphany and into the season of Lent starting with Ash
Wednesday. As Christians, what does this mean?

Some of us grew up in churches where Lent was observed, but with little real explanation, making it seem like an empty, meaningless ritual. On the other hand, others of us grew up in church traditions where Lent was not observed at all. Some grew up in churches where we found Lent very meaningful. Some of us didn't grow up in any church at all.

What is Lent?

Lent, as a season of preparation for Easter, is traditionally focused on repentance. Even though
a repentant spirit should mark all we do year round, it is appropriate that certain times be set
aside for a particular focus on repentance. The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday and
lasts almost seven weeks until Easter Sunday. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, which
includes Maundy Thursday (commemorating the institution of the Lord’s Supper) and Good
Friday (commemorating the crucifixion). Reminiscent of Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the
wilderness in preparation for his ministry, the Lenten season, not counting Sundays, lasts forty
days.

That brings us to the topic of fasting. Many Christian traditions have long tied the season with
giving up certain things, especially some food. Fasting can be a good thing for us who have so
much. Often our struggles are in denying ourselves things, in comforting ourselves, in filling
ourselves with activities and devices that there is very little space for anything else, most
notably God. However, fasting can also be a holy hill of sorts. One we die on every year in
failure or climb and feel the radiating goodness of self-righteousness. Fasting is meant to bring
you to repentance and a deeper hunger for God. This is why you might fast from something
during Lent...to grow in your awareness of this lack of space, the ways you don’t hunger and
thirst for Jesus and his kingdom, because you are always full with everything else. So, Lent
provides a season, 40 days, to be satisfied in God alone as your bread of life. Also, fasting
doesn’t just mean food. It could find its location here, or it could be from your phone, from social media, from bike riding, from tv, from work, no not really from work. But you get my drift.
Additionally it is important to remember that if you do choose to fast for Lent, remember that
Sundays are supposed to be a break from the fast, because the Lord’s Day is never a fast day
but always a feast day—a celebration of the resurrection!

Whether or not you think fasting is helpful, I do want to urge you to treat the Lenten season as a
time for asking questions about your spiritual health. Part of that should include a special
emphasis on repentance and prayer. With all this self-examination, however, it is crucial to keep your focus on the gospel (GOOD news!): All of us are more sinful and helpless than we would’ve ever dared admit, yet in Christ we are more accepted and forgiven than we would’ve ever dared hope. May God grant you a truly holy Lent!

As we said, we shift gears from the celebrations, feasting, and parading of Epiphany to the
repentant reflection of Lent and this begins with Ash Wednesday. This year we will again have a
special, short worship service to begin the Lenten season on Feb. 14, this Wednesday at 6:30
at Hope Church. Besides the tenebrae service on Good Friday at the conclusion of the season,
this is the most sober of our worship services all year.

A unique feature of this service is the marking of the forehead with ashes in the sign of the
cross. Since at least the 10th century this practice has been used to symbolize the frailty of our
human existence and the ‘dust and debris’ in our lives (thus the name Ash Wednesday.) As we
come forward for the imposition of ashes, the minister recites the words of Genesis 3:19  "You are dust, and to dust you shall return."

We remember that we are dust...that we don’t live forever, that we are dependent and needy creatures, who often feel the air of self-supremacy. Recently there was a post in the New York Times. Yale historian Timothy Snyder commenting on the new Polish Holocaust law, said the following: “Sovereignty is the right to define yourself as innocent.” Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season is a time to repent and let go of our personal sovereignty and declare ourselves guilty before God, needy for His love, His grace, His cross and His resurrection. : anyone who is uncomfortable with the imposition of ashes may remain seated during this portion of the service.)

Come join us Wednesday at Hope Church (4710 Juan Tabo) at 6:30pm. 

~ Justin Edgar