Walking with Jesus to the Cross & Tomb
Many Christians have an uncomfortable relationship with Lent.
In fact, many Christians have deep suspicions about the Christian calendar, also called the “liturgical calendar” or “church calendar.” It is an annual schedule that commemorates certain days and seasons that correspond to various parts of salvation history.
The season of Lent, for example, is the season lasting forty days (not counting Sundays), starting on Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday. It is modeled on Jesus’s 40-day trial in the wilderness, during which time he fasted and was tempted by the devil.
Following the Reformation, the British and American Puritans largely rejected the liturgical calendar. The Puritans argued that the church is called to observe just one holy day: Sunday (often called the Lord’s Day, or the Christian Sabbath), and that Christians should avoid observing any and all special days, including Christmas and Easter. They argued that observing special days is not only biblically unwarranted, but outright denounced by Scripture.
For example, here is the Apostle Paul writing to the churches in Galatia:
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. (Galatians 4:9-11, italics added)
When we hear Paul’s exasperation in this passage, we can understand why Christians in the Puritan tradition were wary of observing special days and seasons. Why would we add unbiblical observances to our Christian practices? Isn’t that a surefire way to become legalists or traditionalists who distort the pure gospel? Isn’t that why we had a reformation in the first place?
The Apostle Paul in Galatians, however, was addressing largely Gentile Christians who were enticed to observe the Old Testament feast days of the Jewish calendar, thinking that they could add to their salvation by observing the law of Moses. Paul equates their adoption of the Jewish calendar to returning to their pagan practices!
Furthermore, the Puritans initially rejected the liturgical calendar, not primarily on biblical grounds, but because they saw the government using the force of law to impose special days and seasons upon the seventeenth-century English church.
The Apostle Paul was not against all tradition. In fact, he writes in Romans 2:25 that even the practice of circumcision has value “if you obey the law.” This is the man who argued so vehemently against requiring Gentiles to be circumcised in Galatians. His point is nuanced, but simple at heart: traditions cannot save, but they can have value.
And that is how we ought to think about observing the church calendar. It becomes a problem when we see it as a means of salvation or a means of righteousness, accomplishment, and pride. However, like other spiritual disciplines, observing seasons like Lent can be a healthy and beneficial practice if approached through the lens of the cross.
The season of Lent began on February 18. And by the time you read this article, it may already be close to two weeks into the season, but let me offer three broad reflections on how Christians in all traditions can observe the season of Lent in a gospel-centered manner.
Lent is an opportunity for grace-inspired repentance, not beggarly groveling.
Lent is a time for recalling the marvelous grace and mercy of God shown to us in Jesus. It is not a season of self-loathing, but a season of sober thinking about our desperate condition apart from Jesus. We are not begging at the feet of a miserly god for mercy; we are drawing near to God’s throne of abounding grace, bold but needy, to “receive mercy and find grace” (Heb 4:16).Lent is a season of gratefully surveying the wondrous cross, not paying penance or atoning for our sins.
Every year, there are individuals who voluntarily subject themselves to literally being crucified on Good Friday. They do so to honour the sacrifice of Christ, but also to “mortify” or kill the flesh that wars against the Spirit. Not only is this practice extremely dangerous, but it actually dishonors the sufficiency and finality of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.
The glory of the cross is that our sin—not in part, but the whole—was nailed to the cross of Christ, and we bear it no more. No self-sacrifice can improve upon the mystery of the suffering and death of God’s Son. Lent is a season to lift our eyes to the cross and gaze in stunned wonder and worship, not a time to punish ourselves or to atone for our sin. It is finished.Lent is a season of deliberate self-denial, not mere deprivation.
Some people object to Lenten practices by saying that Christians should always deny themselves, always be grateful, always repent, always pray, etc. That is true.
But anybody who is married knows that a couple never just drifts into deep intimacy, deep forgiveness, deep self-sacrifice and love. No, practices that nurture this kind of relationship require thoughtful, deliberate planning.
In the same way, people will never drift into a life of self-denial or sacrificial giving towards God. They must plan for it. When we deny ourselves during Lent, it is the intentional, deliberate nature of Lenten observations that can deepen our discipleship throughout the year.
Lent has traditionally been a time for fasting, but Christian fasting must never be confused with mere deprivation. Christians fast so that they can feast. We fast from certain kinds of food, so that we might feast on Christ, the Bread of Heaven (Jn 6:51). We fast from certain kinds of entertainment, so that we might feast on Christ, radiant among ten thousand (Song 5:10). We fast from indulgences, so that we can feast on Christ, who is the hidden pearl of surpassing value (Mat 13:45-56). Christian fasting is not about subtraction; it’s about replacement. Don’t just fast; feast on Christ.
Church, whatever your view of Lent, walk with me towards the Cross and the (empty) Tomb. Journey with me towards Good Friday and Easter with times of grace-filled reflection, prayer, and fasting. Here is a 40-day devotional from Gospel in Life that you can follow for the remainder of Lent: https://gospelinlife.com/devotional/lent/.
Let me finish with a short excerpt from a prayer by Scotty Smith.
Truly, Jesus, bring us into a season in which we lament our heart drift from you. Enable us to see and repent of how we have given our hearts to lesser loves, and a lifestyle and pace that marginalizes you. You remember the love we first had for you; help us remember. Between now and Easter Sunday, humble, gentle, and re-center us, Jesus. So Very Amen.
Moses