A Lenten Fast: Biblical Truth Meets Tradition
I am a Baptist Pastor. I also have some mild inclinations toward Anglicanism and many friends on both sides of the Lenten Debate. Is Lent biblical or is it just tradition? I contend that is it both. Walk with me down this path…
What is Lent?
Historically, Lent is the 40-day period leading up to Resurrection Sunday. It calls our attention to the time when the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Prior to that temptation, Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights with much prayer. (See Matthew 4 for additional study) Lent reminds us to do the same.
Do Fasting and Ashes go together?
Esther 4:1 tells us that Mordecai clothed himself in sack cloth and ashes, walking about the city wailing loudly.
Job 42:6
Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
Nehemiah 9:1
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them.
Jonah 3:5-9
Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them. When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes. He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.
Should I tell people what I am giving up for lent?
Nope
Matthew 6:16-18 (NIV)
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
How do I please God with my fast?
Read Isaiah 58. The Lord God, Himself, describes the fast that pleases Him. So often we are tempted toward the outward acts of righteousness, tithing our mint, dill, and cumin and we miss the entire point behind the act (Luke 11L24).
A proper fast is designed to give God His due glory and to prepare ourselves to be with Him and to serve Him.
So is ritual wrong?
Not at all. Many liturgies, including those in Leviticus, are filled with deep and rich theology. Ritual helps to guide us in our theology and more importantly in our doxology (praise). A certain level of ritual (if your church has an order of service you have ritual) is necessary to help us stay on the path. Ritual, however, must never rise to the level of mandate, if that mandate cannot be drawn, chapter and verse, from the Scripture itself.
What do I do?
Enjoy the ritual, if you like. It was designed to help you grow closer to God. Just as the Model Prayer (The Our Father) is designed to teach us to pray and to develop the right habit and attitude, so ritual and liturgy do the same.
Give God the glory and don’t advertise your obedience. God deserves glory, you and I don’t.
If you celebrate Lent, I wish you to have a holy season which draws you deeper into communion with Christ. If you do not celebrate Lent, I still wish for you to draw deeper into communion with Christ. He will be our inheritance and treasure forever so let us savor that Treasure even today.
