Season of Lent
SEASON OF LENT
Getting Ready for Resurrection!
1. The early Christians made it their habit to fast before Easter. The length of the fast ranged from 1 to 40 days in different regions (and this dates back at least to the 2nd century). The idea of a 40 day season surely comes from the significance of ‘40’ in the Bible (flood, Moses on mountain, wilderness wandering, Goliath, Elijah's fast, Nineveh, Jesus' fast before temptation, post-resurrection appearances, etc). QUOTE from Irenaeus.
2. In biblical times, ashes were connected to themes like humility (Genesis 18:27), repentance (Job 42:6), mourning (Jeremiah 6:26), etc. This would sometimes include putting ashes on your head or body (2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1, Ezekiel 27:30).
3. Many Christians came to begin the season of Lent by having ashes (repentance) placed on their foreheads in the shape of a cross (forgiveness). Thus we have ‘Ash Wednesday’ (the 1st day of Lent).
4. At the time of the Reformation, some Christians (especially Calvinists & Anabaptists) stopped practicing many of the ‘holy days’ because they imagined that they were invented by the Roman Catholic Church. In the case of Lent, however, the practices preceded the Roman Catholic institution.
5. In modern times, the season of Lent is often kept by giving up (fasting) something (not just food) for the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter.
Getting Ready for Resurrection!
1. The early Christians made it their habit to fast before Easter. The length of the fast ranged from 1 to 40 days in different regions (and this dates back at least to the 2nd century). The idea of a 40 day season surely comes from the significance of ‘40’ in the Bible (flood, Moses on mountain, wilderness wandering, Goliath, Elijah's fast, Nineveh, Jesus' fast before temptation, post-resurrection appearances, etc). QUOTE from Irenaeus.
2. In biblical times, ashes were connected to themes like humility (Genesis 18:27), repentance (Job 42:6), mourning (Jeremiah 6:26), etc. This would sometimes include putting ashes on your head or body (2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1, Ezekiel 27:30).
3. Many Christians came to begin the season of Lent by having ashes (repentance) placed on their foreheads in the shape of a cross (forgiveness). Thus we have ‘Ash Wednesday’ (the 1st day of Lent).
4. At the time of the Reformation, some Christians (especially Calvinists & Anabaptists) stopped practicing many of the ‘holy days’ because they imagined that they were invented by the Roman Catholic Church. In the case of Lent, however, the practices preceded the Roman Catholic institution.
5. In modern times, the season of Lent is often kept by giving up (fasting) something (not just food) for the 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Easter.
posted by matthew at 11:10 AM
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