Today is the first day of Lent for 2023, and this is the first in my new blog series which will run for the next 40 days.
"But why?" you might be asking. "What even is Lent? Why does it matter?"
I'm glad you asked (wink), and I'd love to tell you!
While Advent (the period leading up to Christmas Day) is a celebration and a time of great anticipation, Lent is more usually seen as a time of solemn observance and preparation for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
From its start on Ash Wednesday until its conclusion on Easter Sunday, Lent has been a traditional time for fasting or giving something up or for intentional serving.
Just as we would prepare carefully for events in our personal lives, like a wedding, or a graduation party, Lent is an opportunity for us to make our minds and hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Many Christians have heard of Lent, but aren't really familiar with it - or they may have heard some "myths" about it and be confused about whether or not they should celebrate it.
If you’re in that category, here are a few myths and truths:
Myth #1: Celebrating Lent is only for Catholics.
Truth: Lent is observed by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians alike. Lent is an ancient practice that began long before Christians used such labels to define ourselves.
Myth #2: Lent is 40 days long.
Truth: It’s actually 46 days! Those extra 6 days are Sundays, when tradition says that you can break your fast.
However, many Believers celebrate the 40 days of Lent starting on the Wednesday marking 40 days before Easter Sunday.
Myth #3: Lent is about fasting.
Truth: Well, that's partly true, but Lent isn’t just about giving up something.
There are 3 traditional Lenten activities:
prayer
fasting
almsgiving (giving to those in need either financially or through service)
Together, these three pillars of Lent help us draw closer to God, which is the true purpose of the Lenten season.
So, to summarise, like Jesus fasting in the desert for 40 days, or Moses being with God on Mount Sinai for 40 days, the 40 days of Lent are a physical reminder to draw near to God.
Over the next 40 days, I'll be sharing a short post based on my Lent Scripture reading for the day. I hope you'll join me on this journey.
Day 1
Today's Scripture reading is Matthew 6: 1 - 21: (Note: Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations on this page are from the HCSB, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.)
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.8 Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.
9 “Therefore, you should pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.
16 “Whenever you fast, don’t be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so their fasting is obvious to people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head, and wash your face, 18 so that you don’t show your fasting to people but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
19 “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
This passage of Scripture focuses on the practice of piety. Jesus is teaching His followers to pay humble attention to matters of righteousness, and to the proper conduct of giving, prayer, and fasting.
However, by inviting us to consider where our heart is truly centered, Jesus is also giving His hearers some caution about a journey that looks only or overly inward. I think this is why He teaches us the words of the Lord’s Prayer in the middle of this discourse - to encourage us to focus on the mercy of our Father in heaven, on God’s kingdom coming among us in the doing of God’s will, and on God’s gift of daily life-giving bread, rather than focusing on ourselves, our image, our needs, etc, as He describes the "hypocrites" and "Pharisees" doing.
I pray that this passage will set the tone for the for our 40 day journey - that we will both look inside ourselves, to see where our hearts are, but then to use this as an impetus to look up and outwards, to see where the Lord's heart is, and refocus our lives and our doing on the things and people that He values most.