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Lent

Thursday, 26 Feb, 2009 — by URSM

We are here - in the Season of Lent.  Lent?  "What is Lent?" you ask.  Well, simply put, Lent can be described in two ways.  It is described as a period of time, and it is described as an experience.  Both are important.

Lent is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) leading up to Easter.  Lent began on Ash Wednesday (which was February 25) and continues until Saturday, April 11.  This 40 day period is significant.  There are a lot of ideas about "Why 40 days?"  One is the simple relation to all of the ways the number 40 has been significant throughout time.  It rained for 40 days during the flood (Genesis 7:17).  Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on a mountain with God before returning with the Ten Commandments, and he didn't eat or drink anything (Exodus 34:28).  The Israelites wandered for 40 years traveling through the desert to the Promise Land (It begins in Exodus 6).  Elijah walked 40 days and 40 nights to the "Mountain of the Lord" (1 Kings 19:8).  Jonah gave Nineveh 40 days to repent (Jonah 3:4).  It is easy to see that the number 40 is used a lot throughout the Scriptures.

However, the most significant relationship the Season of Lent has with the number 40 is the time period in which Jesus Christ fasted in the desert while being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4).  The focus of this Lenten season is centered on identifying with the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  So these 40 days of Lent are traditionally related to the 40 days Christ spent in the desert.  We join Christ during these 40 days as we wander through the "desert" of our own lives.  We all want to experience the ressurected life Christ offers us, but Christ himself insisted that in order to experience life, we must take up our cross and follow him (Luke 14:27)

Lent truly can be a meaningful experience for us.  When we walk through this season observing the ancient spiritual disciplines, dwelling in the Scriptures, gathering as a community, sincerely taking ownership of what it means to suffer as Christ suffered, putting ourselves aside and living the words from Galatians 2:20, "Not I, but Christ lives in me," then these 40 days are much more than just Monday, Tuesday, "A Day" or "B Day."  These 40 days are meaningful, spiritual, powerful, and humble days that make celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Easter an experience that is real instead of redundant.

So, that is why we do what we do during Lent.  That is why we talk about fasting.  And that is why we spend Holy Week intentionally reliving Christ's journey through the Stations of the Cross, a prayer Labyrinth, a Maundy Thursday Service, a Tenebrae Service (Good Friday), a Sunrise Baptism Service, a celebration worship service, and a party in the Upper Room.

What does this all mean to you?  Where do you find yourself during this Season of Lent?  What does your "desert" look like?  Why have you chosen to fast something during this season?  What makes the experience of Lent meaningful to you?  You are welcome to reflect on these questions on your own, or respond by leaving a comment below.

If you have any questions about anything you just read, or about anything else click here.

Our prayer is that this Season of Lent is deeply meaningful for you.

"May You Walk with Christ in the Shadow of the Cross."

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