Borrowed Piety is also Lent

I grew up in a strongly Catholic neighborhood so many of my friends were altar boys. My maternal grandfather was a once lapsed Catholic who renewed his faith or, better, his Catholic practice shortly before I was born. He was a positive Christian witness in my life. My early recollections of the Lenten Season run from bizarre to humorous. There were always the wisecrack answers the ever present question: “What are you giving up for Lent.” Most would say, “Watermelon:” a few would get very deep and say, “I am giving up religion for Lent.”

The Protestant Reformers, most notably Luther and Zwingli, seemed to place the most zealous protestants on Lenten observances all that was wrong with 16^th century Catholicism. John Calvin calls it a “false zeal, replete with superstition, which set up a fast under the title and pretext of imitating Christ.” It was difficult to tell if they were against the idea of Lent or what it had developed into. Calvin was clearly against the very idea of an annual public fast, but not against fasting per se.

Lent is a forty day season of self reflection and sacrifice in preparation for the Celebration of our Lord’s death and resurrection. I was practiced very early in the Church life - as early as 200 AD and certainly before that. It has not always been forty days and not always six weeks and change. It has been 40 hours. It has been eight weeks, Monday through Friday. Currently, it is six weeks, six days a year, beginning with Ash Wednesday so you can add for days to the 36 days on the six week cycle.

It reminds us of Moses’ forty day fast on Mt. Sinai, Elijah’s forty day fast on Mt. Horeb (Sinai). Mostly, it turns our attention to Lord’s wilderness experience just after his baptism and just before he begins his public ministry. There is a certainly solid biblical images of sacrifice offered in preparation for a deeper walk with God.

At its best, the purpose: to repent of sin, to renew our faith and to prepare to celebrate joyfully the mysteries of our salvation. How do you strengthen your faith and deepen your commitment to follow Jesus Christ more perfectly?