The 40 Day, ancient Christian season of repentance and preparation for Easter Sunday (Lent). Traditionally, people fast or abstain from something for the 40 days. This time of fasting is meant to help us embrace the suffering of Christ as well as to help us become more deeply devoted to the only One that truly matters. Chris Webb, President of Renovare’, writes, that it is “a time of repentance, an opportunity to experience the mercy of God, to be set free from past patterns of behavior, and to embrace a life of joyful holiness.”

Lent is not just about giving up something for the sake of giving up something. As with all fasting, we say “no” to habits or things in order to say “yes” more deeply to Christ.

One of today’s Scripture readings (Amos 5:6-15) tells us to “seek the Lord and live” to “seek good and not evil”. Now, the things that we choose to fast from may not be inherently “evil”, but if they are preventing us from living the full abudant life that Christ came to give us, then perhaps we should consider saying “no” so that we can say “yes”.

So, I encourage you to enter fully into this season of Lent (even if you never have), and prayerfully ask God to reveal what in your life you should abstain from so that you can more fully enter into the life he wants you to live.

Today’s Scripture readings from the Book of Common Prayer

LENT BONUS:

Lent: Inquiry and Instruction

By Robert E. Webber

Question: What is the meaning of the word Lent?

Answer: It has no religious meaning like Advent or Pentecost. It comes from an Anglo-Saxon word, Lencten, meaning “spring.”

Question: Why do we observe Lent?

Answer: The purpose of Lent is to provide a time for us to enter into the suffering of Jesus and to go with Him to the tomb.

Question: How can we do this?

Answer: The experience of the people of God who have gone before us is that we best identify with Jesus by adopting a discipline of prayer, fasting, almsgiving.

Question: How should we pray?

Answer: Our prayer may be a spiritual meditation on Jesus Christ–His teaching, His suffering, His death on our behalf.

Question: Why should we fast?

Answer: Fasting is an aid to prayer. Years ago Augustine wrote, “When a man imposes on himself the burden of fasting, he shows that he really wants what he is asking for.” Christians fast in order to pray more intently.

Question: What is the purpose of almsgiving?

Answer: We give alms to the poor and needy because it is a specific expression of the brotherly love produced by prayer. The closer we are to Jesus, the more we care for our neighbor.

Source: Robert Webber, The Family Book of Prayer (Hendrickson, 1996).