A time of spiritual self-assessment

Do you observe the season of Lent? Do you give up chocolate? Maybe you stop drinking coffee for 40 days. Do you even think about the time of Lent? If somebody asked you how you felt about Lent, would your response be, “I hate it when it sticks to my dark colored sweaters!”? For many parts of the church around the world, Lent is a time of spiritual preparation for the joyful celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Here’s a little of the history and meaning behind the season of Lent.

In the earliest days of the church, Lent began as a day of fasting in preparation for water baptism, which usually occurred during the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. One of the oldest Christian documents, The Didache (literally, “The Teaching”—written around 120 AD), instructed concerning baptism: “Before the baptism let the baptizer fast, and the baptized, and whatever others can; but you shall order the baptized to fast one or two days before.” And so the practice began.

Over time the one or two days became five or six days. It was a time when new Christians were taught the faith and life of Christianity before their baptism. But eventually the church grew and baptisms occurred at times other than Resurrection Sunday, so it was no longer just a preparation for baptism. By 325 AD the season of Lent had stretched to a time of 40 days, probably in keeping with Jesus’ own fast of 40 days.

The 40 days were seen as a time for self-assessment in regard to the step that was taken at baptism when the believers had declared themselves “dead to sin” but “risen with Christ to new life” (see Romans 6:3-4). Even for those who had been Christians for many years, this time of personal “taking stock” helped the individual to see their personal weaknesses, to recognize their need for continued repentance, and to renew their longing for the life and power of the risen Christ.

On the basis of this historical explanation, I would suggest that many of us could use a season of “lent,” of stopping and looking at our spiritual condition and renewing our desire for more of the life of Christ.

Perhaps this prayer from the late 4th century by Ephrem the Syrian, considered by many Christians to be the classic Lent prayer, will help to display the attitude to be adopted during the time of Lent:

O Lord and Master of my life!
Take from me the spirit of sloth, faint-heartedness, lust of power, and idle talk.
But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Thy servant.
Yes, O Lord and King!
Grant me to see my own errors and not to judge my brother;
For Thou art blessed unto ages of ages. Amen.

This prayer sets out the negatives and the positives of repentance and prepares the heart for the joyful reality that Christ is risen from the dead. Spiritual laziness, spiritual weakness, pride and lust for power, and empty talk all cause us to spiritually fragment. We no longer have Christ as the center of our existence, and we can end up running in too many different directions—usually self-centered directions.

The translation of “chastity” from the original Syriac means much more than just sexual purity; it carries the notion of “whole-mindedness.” When we have this whole-mindedness, we are centered in our need for Christ and the power that He gives as we learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. This awareness brings with it a sense of humility as we see our own need, patience with others as we see that we aren’t really any better than they are, and love for all people—not as a “potential convert” or as a subject of my “good deed for the week” but as a living, feeling, person for whom Christ died.

If we try to live a “good life” in our own strength and power, we are going to fall short every time. As Paul stated, “I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn I can’t make myself do right. I want to but I can’t” (Romans 7:18 Living Bible).

Is Lent found in the Bible? No. It is not a practice explicitly commanded by God. It’s simply a church tradition that has grown up over the centuries, but the season of Lent can be much more than giving up one thing or another for a few days in hopes of somehow pleasing God and gaining a blessing. Rather it can be a time of jumping off the treadmill of life and recognizing that in our own strength we can’t do all that God asks of us, but thankfully God doesn’t leave us there.

The recognition of our weaknesses and failures causes us to look gratefully and joyfully toward the time when we can celebrate the fact that Christ has risen from the dead; He has ascended to the Father in heaven; and He has sent His Holy Spirit to transform our lives and make us new creations in Him. “Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”