| Bishop's Corner
The Tradition of Lent
By Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker
 The season of
the Christian Year known as Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5. It is
40 days of preparation for the festival of Easter when Christians
celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
What we call Lent is an ancient tradition of the
church. During the most ancient period of the church, the dates of
Easter and the period of preparation varied. Eusebius (ca. A.D.
265-340) in his “Church History” states that the churches in Asia
Minor celebrated Easter on the Jewish Day of Passover, which occurred
on any day of the week, but the churches in the rest of the world
always celebrated Easter on the Lord’s Day or Sunday. The Council of
Nicaea in A.D. 325 prescribed that Easter should be celebrated on the
first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox.
The length of the period of preparation also
varied. Socrates (ca. A.D. 379-450), in his “Ecclesiastical History,”
states: “The fasts before Easter will be found to be differently
observed among different people. Those at Rome fast three successive
weeks before Easter, excepting Saturdays and Sundays. Those in
Illyrica and all over Greece and Alexandria observe a fast of six
weeks, which they term ‘The forty days’ fast.’ Others commencing
their fast from the seventh week before Easter, and fasting three or
five days only, and that at intervals, yet call that time ‘The forty
days’ fast.’ ”
The present practice of observing Lent for forty
days, not counting Sundays, beginning with Ash Wednesday was
established some time during the eighth century.
The 40 days of Lent is a commemoration of Jesus’
40 days of testing in the wilderness after his baptism by John (Mark
1:13) and also a recollection of the 40 years of testing of the people
of Israel in the wilderness. It is a time set aside during the year
for an intentional period of remembering our baptism, confessing our
sins, practicing spiritual discipline and renewing our faith in Jesus
Christ our Sovereign and Savior.
We need this tradition of Lenten observance in
order to recover the purpose of our lives. “In Another Day of Life”
Ryszard Kapuscinski said, “Life had propelled me from event to event
in an undefined process directed toward an unseen goal.” By
observing Lent, we may recover our center, which is Jesus Christ, by
whose life, death and resurrection God has revealed the purpose of
human existence.
|
