Though I have grown up familiar with Lent and what it stands for, this has been my first Lent with my faith firmly rooted in Christ. I grew up knowing Lent was the 40 days before Easter in which you gave up something to show you sacrificed something just like Jesus did. On a higher level, Lent kind of served, in my mind, as an external display of loyalty to the Christian faith to everyone else. If you managed to hold out for the entire 40 days, you were somehow “better than” those of us who couldn’t help but eat a cookie 38 days in. The problem with this, however, is that Lent to the general Christian (and even some of the non-Christian) population is that Lent becomes more of a token, an external display of “faith” rather than truly believing in why we do it. What purpose does giving up Facebook for a month serve to God? Furthermore, why would someone who isn’t even of the Catholic faith decide to give up something of value to him during this time? It seems this event has grown into more of a personal challenge rather than a faith-rooted belief. It is fascinating to challenge oneself, testing the limits of human willpower.
Rev. Ken Collins describes Lent as follows: “Lent is a season of soul-searching and repentance. It is a season for reflection and taking stock. Lent originated in the very earliest days of the Church as a preparatory time for Easter, when the faithful rededicated themselves and when converts were instructed in the faith and prepared for baptism. By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days. All churches that have a continuous history extending before AD 1500 observe Lent. The ancient church that wrote, collected, canonized, and propagated the New Testament also observed Lent, believing it to be a commandment from the apostles.*”
The point I wanted to emphasize with this description is the function of Lent as a time of soul-searching, reflection, and rededication. Seems to me that no matter what faith (or not) you follow, there should always be a time to reflect on your actions. I think of it as a sort of revival of the “New Years’ Day” mindset. It is a time upon which you can re-evaluate your life. To us Christians, this is a time to dedicate to thinking about God’s sacrifice, His Son, to bring us our salvation.
So, if you are a Christian reading this, I hope you think about what Lent means to you. Has it been a time of reflection, rededication, of soul-searching? Or simply an external display to the world that you can give something up for 40 days? If you are not a follower of Christ, I hope that this article has given you some sense as to the faith-rooted traditions of Lent, and know that I have been in your shoes for 19 years. I must say that personally, walking with Christ in the desert for the first time has taught me much more than giving up M&Ms.
*Source: http://www.kencollins.com/holy-04.htm
