It was Athanasius of Alexandria, in a series of letters (334 AD) who encouraged a forty-day fast, linked to Easter.
Interestingly, according to Christianity Today, the season of Lent didn't always begin on Ash Wednesday. It was Gregory the Great (540-604) who moved the start of Lent to a Wednesday, and instituted the spreading of ashes on the forehead. A symbol of the self-examination and denial, linked to Genesis 3:19, "remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return."
The fasting portion of Lent also has undergone changes.
After the Council of Nicea, church leaders instituted a standard for the 40-day fast of one meal each evening, with no meat, fish or animal products. Today, in the West, that is not the standard, and Christianity Today points out, many Protestant denominations (outside of Episcopal and Anglican) do not mention or practice Lent at all.
Regardless of the history, the main focus of Lent is on reflection and denial. The United Methodist Church's organizational website notes that Lent is a "season of repentance, fasting and preparation for Easter," reflecting on our relationship with God. It often involves giving up something to help this effort.
So, what's the significance of Genesis 3:19?
Shortly after the Fall (when our spiritual ancestors sinned against God for the first time and were cut off from intimate relationship), God told them: "...For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return."
Indicating that from that point forward, the human race would experience death.
We can take this to mean, on a physical level, that at some point, we will all leave this earth. That our life, as we now experience it, will be over.
Everything we have, materially, at one point, will be gone. The instant we leave this world. (While it's true that some possessions may be forwarded on to relatives or friends or designated institutions, for the most part, those things will no longer be ours).
That's a sobering thought.
It's been said that most of our life, at least in Western culture, is spent ignoring the fact that we're going to die. Death represents the unknown and it often frightens us into accumulating material things.
However, for a person of faith, death isn't the final chapter.
That's the purpose behind Lent.
On the one hand it's a reminder that life is fragile and fleeting. On the other, it asks us to examine the kind of life we are living and our relationship with God. And the spiritual reality of Easter Sunday.
For followers of Jesus, Easter Sunday is a celebration of the life to come. Of death being conquered. That there is much more to this world than material reality.
Lent asks us to remember that this life will someday end. It asks us to slow down and examine where our priorities are. Lent asks us to acknowledge that there is more to living than consuming. We can choose to live lives of service to others. Lent is an invitation to examine the spiritual reality beyond everyday life. Lent is a reminder that we don't have to be afraid of death if we're lived the kind of life to prepare for it.
And by pointing ahead to Easter and the Resurrection of Jesus, Lent offers a resounding "YES!" to the age-old musing, "There has got to be more to life."
How about you? How do you observe Lent?
Photo Credits:
United Methodist Church
episcopalchurchofthetransfigurationofvail.org
catholicreview.org
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