A Baptist Bent for Lent?
Before I give some thoughts on Lent from a Baptist perspective, here is a brief primer on the subject:
- Fat Tuesday: The day before lent begins. A day of indulgence before the 40 days of self-denial.
- Mardi Gras: Literally means Shrove Tuesday. Shrove comes from shrive and means to hear the confession of and give absolution to one who is repentent. Shrovetide is the three days before lent. Mardi Gras has become a three day festival leading up to Ash Wednesday. These festivals take place all over the world but are especially prevalent in Brazil and New Orleans. Most festivals include drinking, drugs, sex, and pagan symbolism.
- Ash Wednesday: Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterians, and Methodists are the primary celebrators of Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, the ashes are from the burning of the previous years blessed palm branches from palm Sunday. The ashes are then consecrated, mixed with holy water or oil and administered to the foreheads of the people. Often administered in the sign of the cross, the ashes symbolize repentance. As they are administered the priest or pastor says "Remember man you are dust and to dust you will return." (Gen. 3:19), or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel." (Mark 1:15)
- Forty days of Lent. The forty days begin on Ash Wednesday and end the Saturday before Resurrection Sunday. The Sundays within lent are not counted in the forty days. Fasting days of various length originate in the early centuries of Christianity and some evidence suggests that the apostles recognized a pre-resurrection Sunday fast. In 313 a.d. Christianity was legalized and Lenten practices became homogenized into a forty day observance. The significance of forty relates to Jesus' days in the desert, Elijah's days walking to Mt. Horeb, and Moses days on Mt. Siani waiting to receive the Ten Commandments.
- The meaning of Lent. Lent primarily has a two-fold meaning. The first is to remind us of our sinfulness, so we may be repentant and have our understanding of the resurrection sharpened. The second is to remind us of our baptism and its meaning in our lives.
- Why evangelicals (Baptists et. al.) don't celebrate Lent. At the risk of being overly brief I offer two reasons. First, Lent includes the blessing of the ashes and the mediation of grace and forgiveness by a priest or pastor. Evangelicals embrace a fully symbolic understanding of communion and baptism and abstain from rituals not specified in Scripture. Additionally, evangelicals also embrace Jesus' teaching on the priesthood of all believers and have abandoned practices involving mediation by priest or pastor. The second reason involves separation and had more merit in years past. Since the Reformation and Counter-Reformation of the sixteenth century both Catholics and Protestants have worked hard to draw clear lines of distinction from each other. That bent is particularly strong in evangelicals who have also found need to separate from other Protestants.
The abandonment of Lent is not all good because, in trying to be distinctive and properly reject some things, we willingly gave up some valuable and godly things. I encourage you to embrace three aspects of what Lent attempts to accomplish: Fasting - denying ourselves of something valuable that we regularly partake in so we can focus on our sinful and lost state without Christ, prepares us for understanding the resurrection. Historical rootedness - a Lenten fast symbolically unites us with believers throughout history and lessens our usual ego-centric understanding of church. Confession - confession is healthy for us and is commanded in Scripture. These aspects of Lent can, and in many ways should, be embraced by all Christ-followers.
Don't worry about ashes or Mardi Gras parties, but consider a Lenten fast of some sort to enter into the passion of the Christ.
"Remember man from dust you came and to dust you will return."
March 25th, 2011 - 16:07
Thanks for your thoughts. Much appreciated.
March 25th, 2011 - 15:28
I really enjoyed reading this post and the comments. I belong to a PCA Presbyterian Church that does not observe Ash Wednesday or Lent. (However, the Senior Pastor’s Easter Message three years ago drew me into this wonderful God-loving church).
I was raised Catholic and do find the celebration of Ash Wednesday and Lent endearing and memorable, while not absolutely necessary. This year, I went to another church to receive ashes, not because I needed to, but because it is a childhood tradition that always brought me closer to Christ and His payment, by death, for my sins. It just seems that the rejoicing of Easter is that much richer when we can enter into a spirit of contrition and repentance beforehand.
Thanks again for this interesting commentary.
March 12th, 2010 - 13:13
Thank you Matt. I enjoy your perspectives, they help me stay engaged with family.
February 25th, 2010 - 08:57
Thanks for the thoughts. I wish there was more dialogue on it because it invites more into the season and stirs much more reflection.
On baptism and lent. In the early centuries baptism was somewhat of a fragmented practice. However, as it became more homogenous, baptisms were done exclusively on Resurrection Sunday. The church fasted through Lent including the cathecumen (those coming for baptism and official church membership) Men and women were baptized seperately and without clothing. When they emerged from the water they were wrapped in a robe of white symbolizing purity and were given bread and honey to eat. Communion for all followed.
Consequently, baptism historically had huge ties to Lent. The whole season was entered into with ever increasing focus on Christ and the cross.
The Church at that time also believed that once baptized you were not to sin any more. So baptism in the early centuries also picked up a significant but illegitimate sense that it was regenerative to a believer’s eternal life.
I think when you mix the Puritan/Baptist embracing of sola-scrptura and the sometimes thoughtless rejection of all things Catholic you lose some things you shouldn’t. Now add in a worldview from a culture fully immersed in enlightenment thinking of science, technology, affluence, and pragmatism which sucks out virtually any sense of a supernatural realm and an active spiritual reality, and you end up with a lenten season almost void of sincere practitionors and an Easter with an impotent and unnecessary resurrection but a lot of chocolate eggs.
February 24th, 2010 - 09:04
matt, i love the idea of lent primarily because of what you outlined in the meaning. i long for a deeper connection with the passion of the christ and entering into lent helps me. cs lewis reminds us that anticipation is the greatest form of joy and to honor a religious calendar/practices ushers me more fully into anticipation (year round). i have taken part in ash wednesday services for years and love the idea of ash on my forehead as a symbol of my pardon, bought through the blood of christ. you are correct in that it is a symbol, not a mandate, but nevertheless one that holds deep meaning and reflects both the promises and commands of jesus. i also appreciated your connection between lent and baptism… can you comment more on that? i often tend to down play baptism, or at least not think of it so explicitly as you suggested. i am curious particularly because some of the faith traditions you mention who enter into lent practice infant baptism… i am not asking for a baptism debate, just more reflections on how i can connect my own baptism with lent.
February 18th, 2010 - 11:20
Jeff,
You jumped categories on me. I wrote about rituals and you wondered about traditions. These are different things. We have two ordinances that come from Scripture, communion and baptism. We also meet together regularly for worship and preservation of the Word. These come from Scripture.
We have many different traditions, like our Candlelight Christmas worship time or our Easter Drama, that we do regularly. Though we do them regularly we would not hold to them like we do the others because they are not mandated by Scripture.
Everything we do regularly is not necessarily a Scriptural mandated rite. However, we may deem them important and effective within our local context for accomplishing a larger goal.
b/t/w I will accept your confession anytime, but you don’t get to hide behind the screen.
February 18th, 2010 - 07:57
A renewed interest in confession, repentance and fasting…abstaining from rituals not specified in Scripture…I wonder what traditions we practice at BHBC need to be reviewed in light of Scripture? Thanks for the clarification on Lent.
February 17th, 2010 - 19:40
went to an Episcopal church this morning.
February 17th, 2010 - 10:32
I appreciate the historical context. Good information and good things to think about.