2012 Lenten Readings Scripture Texts with Selected Readings
The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday, and it lasts until the Saturday before Easter Day. The last week of Lent is called Passion Week, which includes both Maundy Thursday (the institution of the Lord’s Supper) and Good Friday (the crucifixion of our Lord). Reminiscent of Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the wilderness, the Lenten season lasts forty days (not counting Sundays). Lent is a time to ask God to confront our own mortality and sinfulness; to ask Him to show us our need for grace; to grow in repentance; and, to reflect on the amazing truth of the Church’s participation in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For this year, our texts and readings focus on our need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Cross shows us the depth of our sin and the enormity of our Father’s love for sinners. These thoughts are drawn from Christians who have pondered the Cross of Christ throughout the past twenty centuries, and are meant to complement the Scriptural witness of God’s unfolding plan of redemption. This guide also includes the article, “The Meaning of Lent,” which is a great orientation to the purpose of this season. May you be amazed at the grace of God as you see the truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. May we all be conformed more and more to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Ash Wednesday, February 22 Rend Your Hearts
Joel 2:1-2, 12-17
O Lord, who has mercy upon all, take away from me my sins, and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit. Take away from me the heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh, a heart to love and adore You, a heart to delight in You, to follow and enjoy You, for Christ's sake. Amen. Ambrose of Milan, 4th century
Thursday, February 23 Life or Death
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
O Lord, the house of my soul is narrow; enlarge it that you may enter in. It is ruinous, O repair it! It displeases Your sight. I confess it, I know. But who shall cleanse it? To whom shall I cry but to You? Cleanse me from my secret faults, O Lord, and spare Your servant from strange sins.
Friday, February 24 True and False Fasting
Isaiah 58:1-9a
Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction. Blaise Pascal, 17th century
Saturday, February 25 Calling Sinners
Luke 5:27-32
Today, if we could really be persuaded that we are miserable sinners— that the trouble is not outside us but inside us, and that therefore, by the grace of God, we can do something to put it right— we should receive that message as the most hopeful and heartening thing that can be imagined. Dorothy Sayers, 20th century
First Sunday in Lent, February 26 Create In Me a Clean Heart
Psalm 51
By nothing else, except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, has death been brought low: The sin of our first parent destroyed, hell plundered, resurrection bestowed, the power given us to despise the things of this world, even death itself, the road back to the former blessedness made smooth, the gates of paradise opened, our nature seated at the right hand of God, and we made children and heirs of God. John of Damascus, 8th century
Monday, February 27 Final Judgment
Matthew 25:31-46
Many, indeed, are the wondrous happenings of that time: God hanging from a Cross; the sun made dark and again flaming out; for it was fitting that creation should mourn with its Creator. The temple veil rent, blood and water flowing from His side; the earth shaken, the rocks shattered because of the Rock; the dead risen to bear witness to the final and universal resurrection of the dead. The happenings at the sepulcher and after the sepulcher—who can fittingly recount them? Yet not one of them can be compared to the miracle of my salvation. A few drops of blood renew the whole world. Gregory Nazianzen, 4th century
Augustine of Hippo, 5th century 2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
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Tuesday, February 28 Compassion for the Wicked
Isaiah 55:6-11
Saturday, March 3 My Soul Waits for the Lord
There is no place where earth's sorrows are more felt than up in heaven; there is no place where earth's failings have such kindly judgment given. There is plentiful redemption in the blood that has been shed; there is joy for all the members in the sorrows of the Head.
You were sinning, O man, in darkness and in the shadow of death through ignorance of truth. You were sitting bound by the chains of sin. He came down to your prison not to torture you, but to rescue you from the power of darkness. And first the Teacher of truth dispelled the darkness of ignorance by the light of His wisdom. Then by the righteousness of faith, he loosed the bonds of sin, freely justifying the sinner. Bernard of Clairvaux,
Wednesday, February 29 God Relented
11th
Frederick William Faber, 19th century
century
Jonah 3:1-10
We believe that God– Who is perfectly merciful and also very just– sent His Son to assume the nature in which the disobedience had been committed, in order to bear in it the punishment of sin by His most bitter passion and death. The Belgic Confession, 16th century
Thursday, March 1 Ask
Second Sunday in Lent, March 4 The Source of Righteousness
Letter to Diognetus, 2nd century
Monday, March 5 We Have Sinned
Daniel 9:3-15 According to God’s righteous judgment, we deserve punishment both in this world and forever after: how then can we escape this punishment and return to God’s favor? God requires that His justice be satisfied. Therefore, the claims of His justice must be paid in full, either by ourselves or another.
Anselm of Canterbury, 12th century
Ezekiel 18:21-28
Heidelberg Catechism 12, 16th century
Use sin as it will use you; spare it not, for it will not spare you; it is your murderer, and the murderer of the world: use it, therefore as a murderer should be used. Kill it before it kills you; and though it bring you to the grave, as it did your Head, it shall not be able to keep you there. Richard Baxter, 17th century
2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
Romans 4:1-17
For what other thing was capable of covering our sins than His righteousness? By what other one was it possible that we, the wicked and ungodly, could be justified, other than by the only Son of God? O, sweet exchange! O, unsearchable operation! O, benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wickedness of many should be hid in a single Righteous One, and that the righteousness of One should justify many transgressors!
Matthew 7:7-11
O God our God, grant us grace to desire You with a whole heart, so that desiring You we may seek and find You; and so finding You, may love You; and loving You, may hate those sins which separate us from You, for the sake of Jesus Christ.
Friday, March 2 The Soul Who Sins Shall Die
Psalm 130
Tuesday, March 6 Woe to You
Matthew 23
We took our sins and drove them like nails through his hands and feet. We lifted him high up on the cross of our transgressions, and then we pierced his heart through with the spear of our unbelief. C.H. Spurgeon, 19th century
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Wednesday, March 7 Turn Away Your Wrath from Them
Jeremiah 18:1-11, 18-20
Christ executes the office of a King, in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies. Westminster Shorter Catechism, 17th century
Third Sunday in Lent, March 11 Christ Died for the Ungodly
Romans 5:1-11
Knowing God without knowing our own wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance, because He shows us both God and our own wretchedness. Blaise Pascal, 17th century
Thursday, March 8 The Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke 16:19-31
The simple truth is that the resurrection cannot be accommodated in any way of understanding the world except one of which it is the starting point. Some happenings, which come to our notice, may be simply noted without requiring us to undertake any radical revision of our ideas. The story of the resurrection of the crucified is obviously not of this kind. It may, of course, be dismissed as fable, as the vast majority of people in our society do. If it is true, it has to be the starting point of a wholly new way of understanding the cosmos and the human situation in the cosmos.
Monday, March 12 He was Clean
II Kings 5:1-15b
I cannot pray, except I sin; I cannot preach, but I sin; I cannot administer or receive the holy sacrament, but I sin. My very repentance needs to be repented of; and the tears I shed need washing in the blood of Christ. William Beveridge, 17th century
Lesslie Newbigin, 20th century
Friday, March 9 Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Psalm 103
Learn to know Christ and Him crucified. Learn to sing to Him, and say, “Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am Your sin. You have taken upon Yourself what is mine and given me what is Yours. You have become what You were not, so that I might become what I was not.” Martin Luther, 16th century
Saturday, March 10 Who is a God Like You?
Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Tuesday, March 13 The Unforgiving Servant
Matthew 18:21-35
No man knows how bad he is ‘til he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting it, not by giving in. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it. C.S. Lewis, 20th century
He was led forth like a lamb; He was slaughtered like a sheep. He ransomed us from our servitude to the world, as He had ransomed Israel from the hand of Egypt; He freed us from our slavery to the devil, as He had freed Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. He sealed our souls with His own Spirit, and the members of our body with His own blood. He is the One who covered death with shame and cast the devil into mourning, as Moses cast Pharaoh into mourning. He is the One that smote sin and robbed iniquity of offspring, as Moses robbed the Egyptians of their offspring. He is the One who brought us out of slavery into freedom, out of darkness into light, out of death into life, out of tyranny into an eternal kingdom; who made us a new priesthood, a people chosen to be his own for ever. He is the Passover that is our salvation. It is He who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed Him. In Abel He was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David, dishonored in the prophets. It is He who was hung on the Tree; it is He who was buried in the earth. He is the One who rose from the dead, and who raised man from the depths of the tomb.
Wednesday, March 14 Tell the Coming Generation
Psalm 78
The body that lay lifeless in the tomb is ours. The body that rose again on the third day is ours. The body that ascended above all the heights of heaven to the right hand of the Father's glory is ours. If then we acknowledge the price He paid for our salvation in a lowly body, we too are to rise to share His glory. The promise He made will be fulfilled in the sight of all: “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I too will acknowledge him before my Father who is in heaven.” Leo the Great, 5th century
Melito of Sardis, 2nd century 2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
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Thursday, March 15 Stiff Necks
Jeremiah 7:23-28
Sin is the dare of God’s justice, the rape of His mercy, the jeer of His patience, the slight of His power, and the contempt of His love. John Bunyan, 17th century
Friday, March 16 Return
Tuesday, March 20 The River
The sacred blood of Christ has quenched the flaming sword that barred access to the Tree of Life. The age-old night of sin has given place to the True Light. The Christian people are invited to share the riches of Paradise. All who have been reborn have the way open before them to return to their native land, from which they had been exiled. Leo the Great, 5th century
Hosea 14:1-9
The blood of Christ stands not simply for the sting of sin on God, but the scourge of God on sin; not simply for God’s sorrow over sin, but for God’s wrath on sin. P.T. Forsyth, 20th century
Ezekiel 47:1-9,12
Wednesday, March 21 The Lord is Righteous
Psalm 145:8-19
If the heavenly Kingdom be made up of men, and this cannot be unless satisfaction be made, which only God can make and none but man ought to make, it is necessary for the God-man to make it. Anselm of Canterbury, 12th century
Saturday, March 17 Humble
Luke 18:9-14
Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders, or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you are lost; but, if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved.
Thursday, March 22 Receive Him
O Lord, I cannot plead my love of Thee: I plead Thy Love of me; The shallow conduit hails the unfathomed sea. Christina Rossetti, 19th century
Martin Luther, 16th century
Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 18 Jesus Heals the One Born Blind
John 9
In short, a man must be set free from the sin he is, which makes him do the sin he does. George MacDonald, 19th century
Monday, March 19 New
Isaiah 65:17-25
He died, but He vanquished death; in Himself, He put an end to what we feared; He took it upon Himself and He vanquished it, as a mighty hunter He captured and slew the lion. Where is death? Seek it in Christ, for it exists no longer outside of Him. It did exist and now is dead. O, Life! O, death of death! Be of good heart; it will die in us also. What has taken place in our Head will take place in His members; death will die in us also. But when? At the end of the world, at the resurrection of the dead, in which we believe and concerning which we do not doubt.
John 5:30-47
Friday, March 23 Taste and See
Psalm 34
As they were looking on, so we too gaze on His wounds as He hangs. We see His blood as He dies. We see the price offered by the Redeemer, touch the scars of His resurrection. He bows His head, as if to kiss you. His heart is made bare open, as it were, in love to you. His arms are extended that He may embrace you. His whole body is displayed for your redemption. Ponder how great these things are. Let all this be rightly weighed in your mind: as He was once fixed to the Cross in every part of His body for you, so He may now be fixed in every part of your soul. Augustine of Hippo, 5th century
Saturday, March 24 Jeremiah 11:18-20 To You I Have Committed My Cause God has reigned from a Tree. How favored the Tree on whose branches hung the Ransom of the world; it was made a balance on which His body was weighed, and bore away the prey that hell had claimed. Venantius Fortunatus, 6th century
Augustine of Hippo, 5th century 2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
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Fifth Sunday in Lent, March 25 Slaves
Romans 6:16-23
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me . . . One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more: Death, thou shalt die.
Thursday, March 29 Seek
Psalm 105:4-11
It is not your hold on Christ that saves you; it is Christ. It is not your joy in Christ that saves you; it is Christ. It is not even your faith in Christ, though that be the instrument; it is Christ's blood and merit. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 19th century
John Donne, 17th century
Monday, March 26 Without Sin
John 8:1-11 It is easier to cry against one thousand sins of others than to kill one of your own. John Flavel, 17th century
Tuesday, March 27 Look and Live
Numbers 21:4-9
By the Cross all these things have been set aright . . . It is a Seal that the destroyer may not strike us, a Raising Up of those who lie fallen, a Support for those who stand, a Staff for the infirm, a Crook for the shepherded, a Guide for the wandering, a Perfecting of the advanced, Salvation for soul and body, a Deflector of all evils, a Cause of all goods, a Destruction of sin, a Plant of resurrection, and a Tree of eternal life. John of Damascus, 8th century
Wednesday, March 28 Live for Him
II Corinthians 5:14-17
The Cross of Christ is the Door to heaven, the Key to paradise, the Downfall of the devil, the Uplifting of mankind, the Consolation of our imprisonment, the Prize for our freedom. The Cross was the Hope of the patriarchs, the Promise of the prophets, the Triumph of kings and the Ministry of priests. Tyrants are convicted by the Cross and the mighty ones defeated, it lifts up the miserable and honors the poor. The Cross is the End of darkness, the Spreading of light, the Flight of death, the Ship of life and the Kingdom of salvation. By the Cross, Christ draws everything to Him. It is the Kingdom of the Father, the Scepter of the Son, and the Seal of the Holy Spirit.
Friday, March 30 As a Dread Warrior
Jeremiah 20:7-13
The devil thought he was defeating Christ, but Christ was reconciling us to God, defeating the devil and delivering us out of his clutches. Here is one of the most wonderful things about the cross. Here is one of the most glorious reasons for glorying in the cross. Here Christ defeated our ultimate enemy, the devil, the one who originally brought man and the universe down. He was cast out, he was defeated. He has been put in chains. And finally, he is going to be completely and utterly destroyed. He will be cast into the lake of fire with the beasts and all the false prophets. And he will have no more power. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 20th century
Saturday, March 31 Can These Bones Live?
Ezekiel 37:1-14
In evil long I took delight, unawed by shame or fear, Till a new object struck my sight, and stopped my wild career. I saw One hanging on a tree, in agony and blood, Who fixed His languid eyes on me, as near His cross I stood. Sure, never to my latest breath, can I forget that look; It seemed to charge me with His death, though not a word He spoke. My conscience felt and owned the guilt, and plunged me in despair, I saw my sins His blood had spilt, and helped to nail Him there. Alas! I knew not what I did! But now my tears are vain: Where shall my trembling soul be hid? For I the Lord have slain! A second look He gave, which said, “I freely all forgive; This blood is for thy ransom paid; I die that thou mayst live.� Thus, while His death my sin displays, in all its blackest hue, Such is the mystery of grace, It seals my pardon too. With pleasing grief, and mournful joy, my spirit now is filled, That I should such a life destroy, yet live by Him I killed! John Newton, 18th century
Rupert of Deutz, 12th century
2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
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Palm Sunday, April 1 Behold, Your King is Coming!
Matthew 21:1-11
“Let me not boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This was the way in which, though immortal, He was able to die; the way in which He chose to give life to mortal men: He would first share with us, and then enable us to share with Him. Of ourselves we had no power to live, nor did He of himself have the power to die. Accordingly, He affected a wonderful exchange with us: we gave Him the power to die, He will give us the power to live. In taking upon Himself the death that He found in us, He has most faithfully promised to give us life in Him, such as we cannot have of ourselves. Brethren, let us then fearlessly acknowledge, and even openly proclaim, that Christ was crucified for us; let us confess it, not in fear but in joy, not in shame but in glory.
Monday, April 2 Jesus Entered the Temple
Edward Shillito, 20th century
Good Friday, April 6 Cross
Matthew 27:1-61
Matthew 21:12-19
John Chrysostom, 4th century
Matthew 21:23 – 23:39
So God made known His justice toward His Son, Who was charged with our sin, and He poured out His goodness and mercy on us, who are guilty and worthy of condemnation, giving to us His Son to die, by a most perfect love, and raising Him to life for our justification, in order that by Him, we might have eternal life. The Belgic Confession, 16th century
Matthew 26:14-16
Our Lord subjected His might, and they seized Him, so that through His living death, He might give life to Adam. He gave His hands to be pierced by nails to make up for the hand which plucked the fruit. He was struck on his cheek in the judgment room to make up for the mouth that ate in Eden. And while Adam’s foot was free, His feet were pierced. Our Lord was stripped that we might be clothed. With the gall and vinegar he sweetened the poison of the serpent which had bitten men. Ephraim of Syria, 4th century 2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak; They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.
By the cross we know the gravity of sin and the greatness of God’s love toward us.
Emily Brontë, 19th century
Wednesday, April 4 Sought to Betray
Matthew 26:17-75
Augustine of Hippo, 5th century
There is not room for Death Nor atom that his might could render void Since Thou art Being and Breath And what Thou art may never be destroyed.
Tuesday, April 3 Authority and Teaching
Maundy Thursday, April 5 Passover into Bondage
Saturday, April 7 Grave
Job 14:1-14
Christ humbled Himself in His death, in that having been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by His disciples, scorned and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, and tormented by His persecutors; having also conflicted with the terrors of death, and the powers of darkness, felt and borne the weight of God's wrath, He laid down his life an offering for sin, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross. Westminster Larger Catechism, 17th century
Easter Sunday, April 8 Resurrection
Matthew 28
Through the Cross the faithful receive strength from weakness, glory from dishonor, life from death. The power of His death once confronted our death. In the words of Hosea the prophet: “Death, I shall be your death; grave, I shall swallow you up.” By dying He submitted to the laws of the underworld; by rising again, He destroyed them. He did away with the everlasting character of death so as to make death a thing of time, not of eternity. Leo the Great, 5th century
Compiled by Kevin W. Greene West End Presbyterian Church 9008 Quioccasin Road Richmond, Virginia 23229 804.741.6562 / www.wepc.org 6
The Meaning of Lent adapted from “On Keeping A Holy Lent” by Craig R. Higgins, Trinity Presbyterian Church (PCA), Rye, NY
People from different religious backgrounds have very different reactions to the season of Lent. Some grow up in churches where Lent is observed, but with little to no real explanation. Whether observed as a time of strict austerity or merely as a time of forgoing a few simple pleasures, Lent may seem like an empty, meaningless ritual in such cases. On the other hand, some grow up in church traditions where Lent is not observed at all. These folks may think of Lenten observance as, at best, a hollow custom, or, at worst, quite foreign to authentic Christianity. As a matter of fact, many who grew up in the church have the same question as those who didn’t: “What is Lent, anyway?” What is Lent, Anyway? Lent’s origin is hidden in the early centuries of church history, but we do know that it originated as a time of preparation for Easter. From the church’s earliest days, the resurrection of Christ was celebrated not only each week (on Sunday, the Lord’s Day), but also in a special festival of the resurrection. This festival we call Easter Day, and it is celebrated as the Sunday of Sundays! Lent, as a season of preparation, is traditionally focused on repentance. Speaking biblically, to repent means to make a change in our attitudes, words, and lifestyles. As 16th century reformer Martin Luther taught, the Christian life in its totality is a life of repentance. Beginning when we first trust Christ, and continuing throughout our lives, we are more and more turning away from sin and self-centeredness and more and more turning to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Even though a repentant spirit should mark all we do, it is still appropriate that certain times be set aside for a particular focus on repentance. In much the same way, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ each Sunday, but especially at Easter; and while we should always thank God for the Incarnation, we especially celebrate it at Christmas. These periodic reminders keep us from becoming forgetful and imbalanced. The church has traditionally done this at the Lenten season (and, to a lesser extent, in the pre-Christmas season of Advent). Lent, therefore, is a time for focusing on the heart, a time for asking questions about our spiritual health: What are my characteristic sins, and how can I pray for change? What idols have captured my imagination so that my love for the living God has grown cold? In what ways is my devotion to Christ and His church less than wholehearted? The Lenten season is the spiritual equivalent of an annual physical exam; it’s a time to take stock of our lives, our hearts. Keeping Lent, however, is potentially dangerous, precisely because of this focus on the heart. After all, it is much easier to read a book on prayer than to spend time leisurely speaking with our heavenly Father. It is much easier to fast from certain foods than it is to turn from idols of the heart. It is much easier to write a check than to spend time in ministries of mercy. Consequently, Lent is easily trivialized. The point of Lent is not to give up chocolate; it’s to give up sin! Even with this warning, however, we need to beware of going from one extreme to the other. Yes, it is possible to completely externalize your Lenten observance that you end up trivializing it. Yet we need to remember that we are not purely spiritual beings. God created humans as physical beings; we are psychosomatic creatures, a
2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
“nexus of body and soul.” What we do physically has an effect on us spiritually—and we neglect this principle to our peril. For example, it is unquestionably true that our attitude in prayer is more important than our posture in prayer. However, sometimes being in a physical posture of humility—kneeling in prayer—helps us get in the right frame of mind. It shouldn’t surprise us in the least that there is a connection between the physical and spiritual; it simply reflects how God created us. That’s why, at the center of Christian worship, God gave us the sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper— simple physical rites involving water, bread, and wine, but rites that communicate to us the most profound of spiritual realities. That’s also why, in the pages of Scripture and throughout the history of the church, we find many physical acts and postures designed to help us worship, to help us pray, to help us in our spiritual growth. The list could be quite long, such as standing for prayer and praise, the laying on of hands, anointing the sick with oil, bowing one’s head and closing one’s eyes for prayer. Recognizing this God-created link between the physical and the spiritual, the Lenten season has historically included a physical element, specifically fasting and other acts of self-denial. We’ll deal with these more fully below. Should We Observe Lent? I am sometimes asked why churches should observe Lent at all. Well, I certainly agree that of all the seasons of the church year Lent is the most-often trivialized. Consequently, many churches (including some Presbyterian churches) do not observe the season. There are, however, two good reasons for keeping this tradition: First, this is a wise tradition. Realizing that repentance should characterize the totality of the Christian life, we should see the practical wisdom in setting aside time especially for this purpose. Just as a baseball player may work at staying in shape year round but still give special attention to conditioning before the start of spring training, so we may find great spiritual benefits in setting aside a few weeks to give special attention to the state of our souls. Second, it is right that we honor the traditional wisdom of the church, and Lent is a tradition that the church has observed for centuries. Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit has been present throughout church history, guiding God’s people into an ever-increasing awareness of biblical truth, we believe that it is foolhardy to disregard history and constantly to try to “reinvent the wheel.” We dishonor our spiritual ancestors when we casually disregard their wisdom. Are Christians required to observe Lent? Strictly speaking, no; Presbyterians have long emphasized that our consciences are bound to Scripture alone, and there is no biblical mandate to celebrate Lent. But countless generations of Christians have found this a helpful tool. When is Lent? The Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday and lasts until the Saturday before Easter Day. The last week of Lent is called Holy Week, which includes both Maundy Thursday (commemorating the institution of the Eucharist) and Good Friday (commemorating the crucifixion of our Lord). Reminiscent of Jesus’ fasting for forty days in the wilderness, the Lenten season, not counting Sundays, lasts forty days. Sundays are not included because the Lord’s Day, according to church tradition, is never a fast day but always a feast day—a celebration of the resurrection! Therefore, during Lent the Lord’s Days are listed as Sundays in Lent, not Sundays of Lent. 7
How Can I Keep Lent? Traditionally, the Lenten season is observed in four basic (and often overlapping) ways: 1.) Self-Examination As we’ve discussed, this is central to the traditional Lenten observance. Use this time to ask yourself some hard questions about your spiritual life, your spiritual maturity. The following questions taken from Outgrowing the Ingrown Church, by Jack Miller, are a great place to start: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Is God working in your life? Have you been repenting of your sin lately? Are you building your life on Christ’s free justification or are you insecure and guilt-ridden? Have you done anything simply because you love Jesus? Have you stopped anything simply because you love Jesus?
If you’re married, ask your spouse to give you his or her evaluation of your spiritual health. Many Christians have a Christian friend, or a small group of fellow believers, who provide an opportunity for spiritual inquiry. If you don’t have these kinds of relationship, Lent might be a good time to initiate one. Parents—especially fathers—could use Lent as time to spend more time with their children individually, trying to understand their particular spiritual struggles and providing them encouragement. With all this emphasis on self-examination, however, it is crucial to keep your focus the Gospel: All of us are more sinful and helpless than we would’ve ever dared admit, yet in Christ we are more accepted and forgiven than we would’ve ever dared hope. Be careful that your self-examination is centered on this Good News. There is always the danger of falling into morbid introspection, which can lead to despair over your own spiritual health and to a harsh legalism toward others. 2.) Self-Denial The Lenten season traditionally is also a time for acts of self-discipline and self-denial, a time to remind ourselves that we do not live by bread alone. Self-denial helps us remember what is so beautifully signified in the Eucharist—that Jesus is the true bread of life, our only source of strength and sustenance. The two major fast days of the traditional church year—Ash Wednesday and Good Friday—both occur during the Lenten season. Traditionally, the other days of Lent—except Sundays, of course —are marked by other acts of selfdenial. Some common examples would be giving up one meal a day or giving up a particular food. Self-denial, however, doesn’t always involve what we eat; some people may work on other habits, seeking to better use their time. (I’ve known some people to fast from watching too much television!) For families in this dangerously frenetic culture, Lent would certainly be an appropriate time to cut back on the seemingly-endless flow of activities and spend time worshipping, praying, and learning together. Since fasting is so unfamiliar to many in our culture, it is wise to consult with a pastor or other spiritual leader before making any decisions in this area. (Some people, of course—such as expectant or nursing mothers, the sick, and those on special diets—should not fast.) Before you begin fasting, I would recommend that you look at what the Scriptures say about the practice (see especially Matthew 6), and perhaps get some guidance from good books on the subject. And again, remember that there is nothing magical in these spiritual disciplines; they are tools to help you grow closer to Christ.
2012 Calendar of Lenten Readings
3.) Acts of Compassion The Lenten season is a particularly appropriate time to ask God to fill you with compassion for the poor and oppressed and to put this into practice in concrete ways. This can take many practical forms. For example, there are Christians who give up one meal a day as a Lenten discipline, and then give the money they’ve saved by doing so to the poor. Many churches—including West End Presbyterian Church—have Maundy Thursday and Good Friday offerings for ministries of mercy, so money saved during Lent could be given at that time. There are many ways in which families can practice compassion during Lent. In your neighborhood, there may be a poor family you could help (with or without drawing attention to yourselves). Or maybe you know an older person who lives alone who could use some help around the house— or would simply like having a friend. Some families save their loose change or forgo some simple expenditures, then give the money to the poor. Lent can be an excellent opportunity to teach our children the value of compassion. 4.) Using the Means of Grace Finally, the Lenten season is a time for renewing our focus on the means of grace—a focus that all-too-easily fades when not given adequate attention. Historically, the church has said there are three means of grace—three instruments through which God helps us grow to be more and more like Christ: the Scriptures, prayer, and the sacraments. If regular times of prayer and Bible study have never been a part of your life (or if they once were but have become less so), then Lent is a wonderful opportunity to begin these life-changing practices. The Lenten season would also be a good time to get involved in a Bible sturdy group—a practice that generations of Christians have commended as key to their spiritual growth. And if your family doesn’t have a time of worship together, Lent is a great time to start—and then keep going the rest of the year! In our individualistic culture, it is all too easy to lose sight of the fact that Christianity is a communal faith, that the center of Christian life is not private religious devotion but corporate worship, gathering with fellow believers to sing, pray, and receive Holy Communion. There are many today who identify themselves as Christians but for whom the church is peripheral and tangential. If this sounds like you, then use this Lenten season to commit yourself to the community of God’s people. If you are a follower of Christ and yet have never been baptized, then make every effort to be baptized as soon as possible. If you have been baptized, remember that in baptism you were incorporated into a community, the family of God, and that you are to join in the family meal, the Lord’s Supper. And parents, the Lenten season is a wonderful time to help your children realize that the church is their family, that worship is their first duty and greatest joy. And if your children understand the Gospel, then this season could be a wonderful time to take the steps toward having them admitted to the Lord’s Table. As Lent begins this year, our prayer for you is that this would be a truly blessed season, a time of genuine and significant spiritual growth for you and for your family. Lord God, eternal and almighty Father, we praise You for the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received forgiveness and eternal life. Grant us the grace to observe Lent by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and selfdenial; and by reading and meditating on your holy Word. Grant that we may remember that though we are dust, and to dust we shall return, that we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen 8
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