The word "Lent" literally means "spring" in English, but
such a literal translation merely refers to the approximate time of year that
this liturgical season occurs, not to its theological significance. Lent
originally developed as a preparation for the Christian Passover, and it took
place on the Saturday before Easter Sunday as well as on Easter. From its
earliest inception, Lent was characterized both by a fast and by a period of
final instruction for baptismal candidates, who would subsequently be baptized
on Easter.
Lent would continue to keep its role as both a time of fasting for Christians
and a preparation for baptism throughout the first several centuries of
Christianity, but its length of time would gradually broaden. In the 2nd
century, the Paschal fast before Easter lengthened from a one-day to a two-day
fast (the Friday and Saturday before Easter). By the 3rd century, the
period of Lenten preparation extended to the six days before Easter, and the
fast also extending throughout these six days, though Friday and Saturday still
held special significance for the Church. Towards the mid 4th
century, there is clear evidence that the period of Lent had extended from six
days to six weeks (or 40 days, if you calculate these days in a certain way),
with the last week, which now observed Friday as a special day commemorating the
crucifixion of Jesus (Good Friday), still maintaining a distinct place in the
season. The reasons for expanding Lent to 40 days are unclear, but it is
certainly possible that the number "40" was meant to parallel other
Biblical events such as the 40 years spent by the Hebrews wandering in the
wilderness and the 40 days in which Jesus was tempted by Satan. This 40 day
period is still observed by the Church today, beginning with Ash Wednesday and
ending with the Saturday before Easter (the Sundays of Lent are excluded from
this 40-day calculation).
Although Lent is no longer associated explicitly with a period of baptismal
preparation, it continues to be a season of discipline and self-reflection as we
meditate on the difficult path Jesus followed to the cross and evaluate our
lives in relation to how well we have followed in his footsteps. In a sense,
Lent functions as a "yearly check-up," a chance for those of us who
call ourselves "Christians" to examine our lives and evaluate our
attempts to live up to the Christian name. Truthfully, if we do this, we will
discover that we have failed to live up to the standards of discipleship that
Jesus proclaimed and modeled in his own life. Yet even though Lent shows us that
we all have much work to do to live as Jesus called us to live, the purpose of
Lent is not to force us to dwell on our sinfulness and failures; rather,
Lent is a sacred time that God has inserted into our temporal lives, a time in
which God reminds us that there’s always an opportunity to start over, to take
out a new lease of life. The challenge we as Christians face during this time of
year is to approach Lent not as a litmus test but as a gift from above, a gift
in which we can find the power to stop living in fear of failure or condemnation
or death, and to start living as God intended us to live, in gratitude to the
God who is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
Return to What Presbyterians Believe