It seems like there are plenty of times we wait for a Christian event. Waiting for Easter Sunday is no exception. The expectation of waiting for Easter Sunday begins with Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is a day of feasting as Christians begin to get rid of all the food at home which is given up during Lent. This feast has another name: Mardi Gras or in English, Fat Tuesday. The next day is Ash Wednesday which is the first day of a period called Lent; Lent, characterized by self denial, has been widely practiced by Christians over the centuries. Jesus was crucified on Good Friday. It was his facing the cross and his own denial of self which prompted this Lenten practice of self giving. Lent is all about self denial. In today’s world, many Christians use the time to give up certain foods or habits. Traditionally it was called the Great Fast. It was designed to prepare Christians for the Good Friday to Easter morning experience. Lent lasts 40 days when you don’t count weekends. Forty days is a long-held number in the Bible. It’s a code word. Forty equals a long time; it could be hours, or it could be days. Forty days is not necessarily 40 days but a long time OVER 40 days. Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days before David showed up. Jesus went out into the desert, after his baptism, for 40 days. The rains of the great flood lasted 40 days. Moses fasted 40 days. Kings Saul, David and Solomon ruled for 40 years. The number 40 appears 159 times in the Bible. The only other number which appears more frequently is 12 with 187 appearances. Every Christian denomination seems to have carved out its own list of what to eat and to give up for Lent, and there were different prohibitions added to the list. Meat and products from animals were often given up. Some faith communities allowed themselves only one meal a day. A few communities even restricted sex for the 40 days which led to a drop in the birthrate in many places. Alms giving, or supporting the poor through donations, was another popular practice associated with Lent. Attached to all of this is prayer. Men and women pray for a number of things at this time. Jesus came to us calling for us to live in communion with each other. We are to be loving and forgiving neighbours. Our prayers at this time would be for us to have the strength to be loving and forgiving. For many churches, times are set aside each day for corporate prayer (prayers for the church) or community prayer (prayers for individuals’ needs). Churches may find individuals praying for peace and brotherhood as members are scattered about the sanctuary. Perhaps in this new age, where yesterday’s values are slowly devalued to the point where they mean very little, the power of Lenten observance is just a scratch on the surface. I remember a congregant who stated to the congregation on Ash Wednesday that he was giving up Cuban cigars, lima beans and avocados. When I pressed him years later why, he responded, “I never cared for any of them and would safely walk the path of Lent without fear of falling off.”
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AuthorI'm Rev. Dr. Pirie Mitchell and I live in Ontario, Canada. Archives
May 2023
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