Here are some admittedly random thoughts I put together to think for myself about Lent as I prepared for a radio interview today.
You can hear the interview here (mp3). My segment starts at 7:18 am …
Quiz: It’s the one day of the year when people who are ordinarily well washed show up with dirt on their head in public. What day is it?
Answer: It’s Ash Wednesday of course. 40 days (not counting Sundays) from Easter, it’s possible to see Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Lutherans and others perhaps wearing a sign that stands for “repenting in dust and ashes” on their foreheads.
Why don’t all Christians do this?
Perhaps the real question, ashes aside, is this – whatever happened to repentance in the Christian Life?
Ash Wednesday has a long history in the Western Church primarily. We Protestants associate it with “Roman Catholicism” but even in the era of the Reformation it was considered to have an important place on the Christian Calendar.
In the Ancient Church, Lent had become a time when those preparing for baptism on Easter were given then final preparations which usually included special times of fasting, self-examination, and receiving intensive study in the Scriptures.
By the time of the Reformation, a doctrine of salvation emerged wherein human works and acts of penitence were considered meritorious and able to remove the penalty for sins that Christ’s own sacrifice was not (supposedly) sufficient to accomplish. This corrupt thinking affected every part of the church’s life and desperately needed reform. It would have been easy to “throw the baby out with the bath water” and jettison everything. Indeed, some did.
But not all by any means. For the most part, the early Reformers practice was to retain and reform what was not corrupt beyond repair, including the Church Calendar.
The Book of Common Prayer
The English Book of Common Prayer to which John Wesley adhered had this to say about “Ash Wednesday”:
Brethren, in the Primitive Church there was a godly discipline, that, at the beginning of Lent, such persons as stood convicted of notorious sin were put to open penance, and punished in this world, that their souls might be saved in the day of the Lord; and that others, admonished by their example, might be the more afraid to offend.
Instead whereof, until the said discipline may be restored again, (which is much to be wished,) it is thought good, that at this time (in the presence of you all) should be read the general sentences of God’s cursing against impenitent sinners, gathered out of the seven and twentieth Chapter of Deuteronomy, and other places of Scripture; and that ye should answer to every Sentence, Amen: To the intent that, being admonished of the great indignation of God against sinners, ye may the rather be moved to earnest and true repentance; and may walk more warily in these dangerous days; fleeing from such vices, for which ye affirm with your own mouths the curse of God to be due.
In other words, English Protestants used the day of Ash Wednesday to remind everyone of God’s displeasure with sin and to move every Christian to a more profound and deeper repentance.
Notably, there were no “ashes” prescribed for this “Ash Wednesday” service! While the Old Testament reading from Joel 2:12 ff called for profound repentance, the New Testament reading from Matthew 6:16 ff reminded the hearers not to do their acts of righteousness before men. Adding ashes to these readings just doesn’t make sense. So instead of the public display of ashes, this short service of prayers was simply added to regular morning prayers for a Wednesday to set the day apart for special use in encouraging repentance.
A special prayer to be said every day in Lent reminded everyone to seek the Lord to “Create and make in us new and contrite hearts” so the whole season of Lent was redeemed as a time of genuine repentance and turning to the Lord.
The German Reformed Church
The German church that gave us the Heidelberg Catechism did not reserve fasting for “Ash Wednesday” or Lent. While they observed Good Friday, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost as “Festival Days”, Ash Wednesday isn’t mentioned. Instead, it observed the first Wednesday of every month year round as a “Fast Day” and “special day of prayer”. One those days it included a time of preaching, penitential psalms, and a time of extended prayers for God to deliver His people from the chastisements they were experiencing.
Why All This Repentance? Romans 8
The Reformers were ardent students of scripture and they were very well aware of this passage in Paul:
For if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:13 LEB
They had seen the corruption of the Church. They didn’t want that corruption to sneak back.
We shouldn’t tolerate the weakness and corruption of our churches today… the only way out is to restore this attitude towards repentance.
Put On/Put Off
We know from scripture that it’s not enough to just turn our backs on our sin. According to the Bible the Christian Life is about putting off the sinful acts of the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul warned the Christians he wrote to about falling into sin. He told them (and us)…
But you did not learn about Christ like this, if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus. You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image — in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. Eph 4:20-24 NET
The Christian Life is not only about putting off sin, but putting on righteousness. That’s why John Wesley started the Friday night prayer meeting. It was one thing to tell someone addicted to alcohol “don’t go out Fridays to the pub”… that was “putting off”.
But he knew that to overcome evil with good, he had to give them something to replace their free time with, a way to put on righteousness.
For me Lent is about repentance, it’s about putting off sin and putting on righteousness.
In this age in particular, we are a people enslaved to many idols. We’d do well to heed Paul’s warning in Phil 3:
For I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of the Messiah. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on worldly things. Php 3:18-19 ISV
Hebrews 11:6 reminds us that God rewards those who seek Him. When we finally choose to forsake our idols (repent and put off) and choose instead to seek Him, we have the greatest reward – know Jesus Christ the Lord and experiencing union and communion with Him.
Our Protestant fathers in the faith knew these things. The ancient church knew these things. It’s time for US to remember and seek the Lord.
Whatever happened to repentance, let’s be sure we don’t lose it again!
