Lent: Borrowing a Devotional Practice from Church History

Have We Forgotten Our Roots?

Photo by Ahna Ziegler
on Unsplash

It has been my experience, over 40 years in ministry, that our Western Evangelical and Pentecostal churches, both large and small, are generally ahistorical. The farther west you go, the less connected to history we are. This has impoverished our spiritual lives in many ways. Ignoring Lent may be one of them. There has crept in an existential spiritual pride that thinks that we, today, are the best expression of Christianity and that what went before us has been superseded. While I acknowledge that the Church has progressively dealt with different issues over the centuries, and that theoretically should result in a church that only gets better over time, that is not always the case. We do well to learn from those saints—faithful men and women—who have prepared the way for us! Sure, some of them are somewhat like crazy uncles at a family reunion, but life is richer and more interesting when we can learn from our older brothers and sisters!

In recent years, there has been renewed interest in reconnecting to the historical patterns of the church. This can be a positive thing if we approach it not as a set of disciplines to which we must submit, but as a devotional expression of our faith in the finished work of Christ.

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

So, what is Lent anyway?

Lent is a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading up to Easter (Resurrection Day). Often in the medieval church, Lent was a very strict time of fasting (one meal per day with no meat, egg, or dairy). It was seen as an act of penance, not just of devotional expression. There were religious and civil laws that enforced the fast on the population.

How did we get away from such traditions?

Because of our understanding of being saved by grace through faith and not by works, many Protestants choose to ignore the season of Lent. However, there is wisdom and devotional benefit to be found in integrating the historic church calendar into our post-modern lives. The cycle of fasting, feasting, and the normal time in between can help ground our faith in the rhythms of the seasons. The feasts are deeper, richer, and more celebratory for having gone through the periods of preparation, such as Advent and Lent.

Ulrich Zwingli, By Hans Asper -
Winterthur Kunstmuseum,
Public Domain, 

At the time of the Reformation, Protestants moved away from such practices because of the excesses and false ideas that had come to characterize them. The Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli felt that his people had been greatly oppressed by the mandatory fasts of Medieval Catholicism. He took a hard-line anti-tradition stance that advocated that believers discard all church traditions that were not expressly commanded in the Scriptures. On the other hand, the German reformer Martin Luther took a more generous approach, allowing the retention of any church traditions not expressly forbidden in the Scriptures. A French reformer who ministered in Geneva, John Calvin, took a stance in opposition to mandatory and superstitious fasting, but he allowed that heartfelt, gratitude-based practice could be acceptable. Modern evangelicals could use a little less Zwingli and a little more Luther and Calvin.

Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday?

Photo by Adam Bartoszewicz
on Unsplash

Mardi Gras is French for “Fat Tuesday,” and it is celebrated the day before Ash Wednesday, when the Lenten fast begins. We have all seen the raucous and often drunken behavior in New Orleans that goes on as celebrants live like hell before they have to enter a season of fasting for Lent. What better way to enter a fast than with a hangover and a guilty conscience! Although originally, such over-indulgence was a physical preparation for an extended time of deprivation, like a bear's fat loading for hibernation. Personally, I prefer the English tradition of “Shrove Tuesday,” which is celebrated with pancakes and confession of sins. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, when believers often attend confession services and have the sign of the cross put on their foreheads with ashes. Why? Well, in the Old Testament, repentance was often done with dust, ashes, rough clothing (sackcloth), and fasting (e.g., Job 42:6; Esther 4:1,3; Jer. 6:26; Dan. 9:3; Jonah 3:6). Ashes on the forehead are a sign of our repentance and decision to follow Christ. Did you ever wonder where those ashes come from? They are traditionally the ashes of the previous year’s palm fronds (from Palm Sunday) that are burned and sometimes mixed with olive oil.

Why 40 Days?

The 40-day Lenten fast was originally done to connect with Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness before beginning is public ministry. In the Bible, 40 is often seen as the number of testing. Throughout the history of Lent, many Christians tended to fast from fatty foods, including meat, eggs, other fats, and milk. In modern times, fasting (when it occurs) tends to focus more on abstaining from things like sugar, caffeine, alcohol, social media, and various forms of entertainment. This step of self-denial can help us more clearly embrace Christ’s command, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23)

While fasting is usually practiced “negatively” in the removal or abstention from things we should probably do less anyway, there is another way to fast “positively” by adding something into our daily routines that is God-focused or others-focused instead of self-focused. This side of fasting is tied to the words about false and true fasting in Isaiah 58. Such practices ask how, during Lent, we can spend intentional time relating to God through prayer and the Word, and relating to the church in worship, teaching, and encouragement, and relating to the unseen and unheard people that surround us.

Drawing Near to Christ, Together

Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash

Recently, a student shared that she likes to keep Lent not primarily as an individual activity but
as a community-based experience with a group of friends where they all fast from the same thing together. They shared that last year they all gave up sugar for Lent, and it served not only as a devotional practice but also contributed to relational bonding with their friends as a result of their shared experience. I love that relational approach. While I trust that the Holy Spirit is the best source of ideas for integrating the Lenten season into your devotional life, I will offer a few suggestions as examples of ways you can positively participate in Lent.

Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ

Recently, I used flipping a coin as an object lesson to help us to remember how we should respond to temptation in light of our identification with Christ. Romans 6:11 makes two things clear—1) We should consider ourselves dead to sin (heads) and 2) Alive to God in Christ Jesus (tails). I suggested that when facing temptation, the students might use a coin as a reminder. Flipping heads reminds us that we are dead to sin (since most coins have the picture of a dead person on the head side). Similarly, flipping tails should remind us that we are alive to God in Christ Jesus. When we approach Lent, it is helpful to remember those two things. 

• Is there some sinful attitude/behavior to which we need to consider ourselves dead? Do so.
• Are there some neutral behaviors that, because of how much time and energy they consume, need to be set aside to draw near to Jesus in this season?
• Are there appetites that have become too controlling, from which we would be set free? Bring them to Jesus, deny them access to your members (Rom. 6:12-13), and say yes to God.

Taking time previously used in behaviors you are currently fasting from to intentionally draw near to the Lord Jesus. Here are some ideas…

• Reading and reciting the prayers of confession and repentance found in the Bible (e.g., Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51,102, 130, 143; Daniel 9:4-19; Ezra 9:5-15; Nehemiah 1:6-7, 9:5-37; Job 42:5-6; and shorter prayers in the New Testament like Luke 18:13 and 15:18-21).
• Reading through the book of Psalms each week or at least once during the 40- day fast.
• Reading through six New Testament books over the six weeks (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and Hebrews).
• Reading devotional collections and guided studies focusing on the confession, repentance, and following Jesus.

Being intentionally others-focused…

• Daily pray God’s blessing and love on someone annoying, frustrating, or even hostile to you.
• Practice a daily act of encouragement to family, friends, and people you meet in the community (e.g., food servers, clerks, delivery people, teachers, school staff, medical workers).
• Look for weekly service opportunities to do with friends and family.

Less is More

Not many of us need more things to do. We often hear the adage that “less is more.” In a way, it is true. Any steps we can take to simplify our lifestyles, minimize distractions that steal our time and energy away from the love of Christ and the love of our families, is a step in the right direction. Any fasting we are led to do can help to break the appetites and addictions that so easily entangle our lives. Less is more. Where can we consume less to love more, give more, help more, and live more by faith? Lent should be an act of simplicity for the sake of service.

However, don’t take too big a bite of self-denial that you are not able to follow through on your Lenten fast. Our efforts to do good in our own strength out of a sense of duty generally lead to a sense of guilt and frustration. We need to ask the Lord what he would have us to do or not do for this season and then ask for his Holy Spirit to lead and empower us to follow day by day! Remember, our participation is not a way to earn favor from the Lord. Rather, our following should be from an overflow of the love of God that has already been poured into our hearts (Rom. 5:5)!