Lent and Ash Wednesday

As we begin to prepare ourselves for Easter Sunday and the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, our church is embracing a tradition, known as Lent, that has been around since the 900s AD. Lent, for as long as it has been experienced, has never been an obligation nor a command, but rather an invitation to Christians to collectively embrace the suffering of Jesus Christ 40 days prior to his resurrection. Just as Christmas is an invitation to remember and celebrate the gift of Jesus’ birth, so Lent is an invitation to experience Christ in yet another way.

Therefore at ECC on March 5th @ 6PM, we will be offering an Ash Wednesday service for anyone wanting to experience and participate in the season of Lent. If you would like to know more about how we practice Ash Wednesday at ECC, take a moment and watch the video below.

Why Embrace Christ’s Suffering?

(Verses for Reflection: 1 Peter 2:19-21, 4:12-16; Romans 8:17-27; Philippians 3:10-11; 2 Timothy 3:12-14)

In Philippians 3, Paul explains to the Philippians church his desire to know Christ fully. He expresses how much greater it is to know Christ than any worldly accomplishments he’s ever received or titles he’s been given. He considers them all “garbage” compared to knowing Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:8). After he expresses this, Paul then explains what it means to know Christ when he says,

Philippians 3:10-11 NIV
“I want to know Christ–yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”

For Paul, to know Christ was not just to know the most welcoming parts of Jesus, but to know ALL of him. This meant to know Jesus’ most unwanted pieces, including his sufferings and death! Lent, along with the practices of Ash Wednesday, provide Christians with both symbols and experiences that encourage us to actively seek ways to identify with Christ in both his sufferings and his death.

The Practices of Lent

Imposition of Ashes

(Verses for Reflection: Daniel 9:1-19; Esther 4:1-3; Genesis 2:7; Isaiah 61:3)

Ash Wednesday is known as the day that “kicks off” the Lenten season. It’s called Ash Wednesdays because for many Christians they receive an “imposition of ashes.” This is a practice where the ashes of palm branches (typically used in celebration of Palm Sunday the year before), are placed on the forehead in the shape of a cross. Though this practice seems weird, it actually has deep biblical roots (mostly the Old Testament), and were an indication of mourning, death, repentance, and mostly a sign of humility.

Job mourned the losses he experienced by imposing ashes on himself. (Job 42:6)

The Ninevites repented with ashes to humble themselves before the Lord. (Jonah 3:6)

The prophet Daniel used ashes as he fasted and prayed to seek the Lord. (Daniel 9:3)

The reason we carry on this tradition today has everything to do with setting the tone for forty days of “suffering” with Christ. The imposition of ashes is a call to humility; to recognize that we are made of dust and to dust we will return. It is a reminder of our fragility as human beings. More importantly, it is a reminder of the cost our Lord suffered in order to give humanity eternal life. If we desire to know Christ, all of him, Ash Wednesday begins a forty day journey of reflecting on the death and humility of Jesus Christ.

Fasting and Prayer

(Verses for Reflection: Matthew 4:1-11, 6:16-18; Daniel 9:1-19; Psalm 69; Acts 13:1-3)

During Lent, the practice of fasting and prayer is held at the forefront. Once again, there is no obligation here, rather an invitation into what theologian Tim Mackie says is a form of “prayer with the whole body.” Jesus, himself, encouraged fasting in his sermon on the mount (Matthew 6:16). Nor is there any requirement of what one should fast from. Some fast from meat. Some fast from sweets. Others have fasted from social media, and I’ve even heard of people fasting from video games!  I, personally, encourage anyone seeking to do this to not seek fasting as a means of “weight loss” or “body cleansing,” but to actually lose something that causes us to experience true loss – to suffer. Listen to the words of Richard Foster on fasting:

To use good things to our own ends is always the sign of false religion. How easy it is to take something like fasting and try to use it to get God to do what we want… Fasting must forever center on God. It must be God-initiated and God-ordained. Like the prophetess Anna, we need to be ​“worshiping with fasting” (Luke 2:37). Every other purpose must be subservient to God; like that apostolic band at Antioch, ​“fasting” and ​“worshiping the Lord” must be said in the same breath (Acts 13:2). C. H. Spurgeon wrote, ​“Our seasons of fasting and prayer at the tabernacle have been high days indeed; never has heaven’s gate stood wider; never have our hearts been nearer the central glory.”

-Richard Foster, Celebration of Disciple: Fasting

The other piece of fasting is not to simply “lose” something, but to find The Lord as a better replacement. That’s where prayer comes in. When your body craves that which you’ve taken away from it, seek the Lord in prayer. Call upon him to be your fill, and be more than sufficient. Both James and Peter tell us that when Christians suffer, there is joy to be found (James 1:2; 1 Peter 4:13). Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus embraced his suffering for the joy that was set before him. Fasting may be difficult, but when we recognize that it allows us to identity and embrace the suffering of Jesus, how could we not find joy in knowing our Savior that much more intimately?

Final Thoughts

Ash Wednesday, Lent, fasting, none of these are commands in the Bible. They aren’t commands or expectations from us at ECC. We simply want to provide anyone in our church with a collective experience to know Christ more intimately as we communally reflect and identity with Jesus in the 40 days building up to his glorious resurrection! 

We ask that you prayerfully consider joining us in this experience. If you have more questions about it, we encourage you to reach out to us for answers. We also encourage you to talk to those who are practicing Lent this season. And if you’re curious, feel free to join us for our Ash Wednesday service this coming Wednesday. There is no obligation to participate, feel free to observe and see what takes place. 

Easter is coming! The day we remember our Lord rising from the grave is near! And we want to encourage all who seek him to start celebration preparations, regardless of whether you practice Lent or not. Our desire is for you to experience the resurrection of Jesus Christ this Easter in a more intimate way.