The Why and How of Lent: Repentance be my Truest Praise...
- A Heart Refined with Rachel Menard
- Feb 14, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 26
I don't have a long, personal story about my experience with Lent because I didn't grow up with this tradition. However, the more I grow in Scripture -- the heart of God and the grace and truth of Jesus Christ -- the more I am able to embrace the beauty of varied Church practices as celebrations of the gift of surrender and worship.
For instance, I had never taken part in liturgies until this season, but they are such a sweet expression of praise and recognition of the One True God. Also, since becoming a Christian, I have taken communion; however, the more I genuinely dwell on the selfless act of Jesus on the cross, the stale little wafer and tiny sip of Welch's grape juice taste like an absolute feast.
With this evolution, it would stand to reason that I would consider taking part in Lent. The thing that bothers me...and makes me want to skip it is how our culture has perverted it, taking something so sacred and making it about ourselves. I guess it is okay if we want to prove we have the discipline to restrain ourselves. If that's what it is, though, we should just name it intermittent fasting and not Lent.
By the original definition, Lent is an act of remembrance for what Jesus did and a reminder of the importance of living in repentance.
So, what if you didn't realize what it meant? Maybe you did and just need a reset. Perhaps, like me, you are just coming into a season of wanting to participate in practices that make you think more deeply about the goodness of God through Jesus Christ. Wherever you are, the best answer is always to look at what Scripture says and does not say...
In Matthew 6, Jesus says, "But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you...Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly, I tell you, they have their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
The tendency may be to skim over these verses and hyper-fixate on the words "Will reward you," but the truth shown here is that prayer and fasting are not how we get our way. It is an act of surrender to the will and heart of God, and while smearing ashes on the forehead does carry the warmth of Old Testament tradition, we live in the promise of the New Covenant: JESUS CHRIST. We no longer have to mourn as if there is no hope! He is alive, and as we see in this Scripture, he does give us very clear, step-by-step instructions. In the end, the reward is not physical. It is the relationship with Him.
In John 15:16, Jesus says, "You did not choose me, but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he will give you."
When we pray "In Jesus' name," we ask according to God's will and character. That's who Jesus is! Therefore, if we pray just so "He will give [us something]," we misunderstand its meaning. We must forcibly correct that false ideology by accepting...or receiving...the first part of the verse. We were chosen by God for God.
I wish I could sit with all who have made it this far in the post and discuss Isaiah 58. It is far too broad to unpack in this blog, but go there! Get out your study Bible and explore the full context of that chapter. As you decide why you should take part in proper Lent, engage with the real why God has given the gift of prayer and fasting. From there, the Spirit of Jesus will show you the best how for you to lay down your life in this sweet, simple season of quiet surrender and repentance.
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