February 17, 2024 — Why Forty Days in Lent?

The practice of a forty-day preparation period began in the Christian church during the third and fourth centuries. The number forty carries biblical significance based on the forty years Israel spent in the wilderness, the forty days Moses spent on the mountain, the 40 days it rained upon Noah and the ark, and Jesus’ forty-day fast in the wilderness. The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday and continue through holy week, not counting Sundays (which are reserved for celebratory worship).

As a period of preparation, Lent has historically included the instruction of persons for baptism, and many churches include a baptism in the service on Easter Saturday (the Easter Vigil). In times past, Lent would be a time of calling back those who have become estranged from the church. And in current times, Lent is the time when Christians look to deepen their piety, devotion, and readiness to mark the death and resurrection of Jesus. As such, the primary focus of the season should be to weave together our efforts of denial, repentance, penitence, and reflection as well as to explore and deepen a “baptismal identity”.

The forty-day Lent journey begins on Ash Wednesday and ends when the church begins the Triduum, the great three-day journey of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday (the Easter Vigil). Lent is a time we should take very seriously, for we do not get enough seasons in the church year where we can purposely focus on our sinfulness and our hope in the cross of Jesus.

Pastor Dave