6 questions (& answers!) about Lent
History, tradition, and modern practice
Last week, in the run up to Valentine’s Day, we talked all about love, defining what it is and, maybe just as importantly, what it isn’t.
But February 14 was a holiday double whammy this year; yesterday was also Ash Wednesday, the official beginning of Lent for Western Christians.
Though I had heard of Ash Wednesday and Lent while growing up in the church, I had never participated for myself until my freshman year of college, when I attended the Ash Wednesday service that my college ministry hosted that year. Admittedly, my adherence has been spotty at best throughout the years, but that experience made this part of church tradition come alive in a real and impactful way that’s stuck with me since then.
As the Easter season approaches, I wanted to share some about the foundations of this tradition and its benefits for Christians throughout history. So, I did what I always do when I want to know more about Christian heritage and reached out to my friend Jarrett Vandiver with a list of Lenten questions. Here’s our conversation:
Q: What does “Lent” mean? Where does this word come from?
A: The word “lent” comes from the old English word (technically “Teutonic”) for “spring,” originally just being a term to denote the spring season. As the Anglo-Saxons in Europe began to become Christian, they started to use the term “lent” to translate the Latin term “quadragesima,” which means “fortieth day.” Scholars have also connected this word to the Greek word “tessarakost,” (forty) commonly used to refer to the Jewish Passover festival. Traditionally, Jews in the first century would prepare for the spring Passover feast in imitation of Israel’s Exodus: living in imitation of their forefathers in the desert. The biblical number of the Exodus, unsurprisingly, is forty. Any Christian tradition that seems mysterious to modern Christians can always be traced back to Judaism!
Q: How long have Christians been observing Lent? When did the tradition emerge?
A: While debates exist on when a recognizable form of Lent “began,” the concept of fasting in repentant preparation for God’s saving work was nothing new to the apostles. In the Bible and Jewish tradition, fasting is done for repentance and preparation for a sacred meal or a mystical vision. In Daniel 9, it is stated that Daniel confessed his sin on behalf of Israel, and then in Daniel 10 we read: “At that time I, Daniel, had been mourning for three weeks. I had eaten no rich food, no meat or wine had entered my mouth, and I had not anointed myself at all, for the full three weeks.” (Dan. 10:3). It was after this time of fasting and spiritual preparation that Daniel had his famous vision of the Son of Man.
As someone primarily interested in the early fathers of the church, it fascinates me that several theologians trace the practice of Lent back to the apostles themselves. Pope St. Leo the Great (d. 461) and St. Jerome (d. 420) are clear that fasting for a time before Easter is of “apostolic institution.” The main development in the church was not whether there was fasting, but how long that period of fasting lasted. St. Irenaeus (d. 200) tells us that “some think they ought to fast for one day, others for two days, and others even several, while others reckon forty hours both of day and night to their fast.” In the early church, there was diversity and development in the amount of time Christians fast, but some degree of fasting and spiritual preparation before Easter seems universal since the time of the apostles.
Q: Historically, what have those observations entailed? How (if at all) has it changed over time?
A: Christian fasting has always primarily been an imitation of God the Son, who often abstained from life’s distracting luxuries so that he would be fully present with God the Father. Specific details differ based on time and region, but the ordinary practice was to take some period of time before Resurrection Sunday to abstain from meat and wine, just as Daniel did (Dan. 10:3) and as Christ indicated Christians would do after his ascension: “The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast on those days” (Lk. 5:35).
For the Western church, fasting began to consist of forty weekdays by the early Middle Ages. During that time, St. Augustine of Canterbury said, “We abstain from flesh meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs.” This prohibition of eggs during Lent is the reason why Easter has always been associated with giving eggs as gifts. For another fun fact: fish has always been an exception to fasting from meat because fish is a cold-blooded animal; thus, it did not fit the medieval definition of meat. If you are reading this, this is a sign for you to enjoy a McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish during your quiet times this Lent.
Q: What are the general details and what is the significance of the details?
A: For Christians today, the general practice is to observe a forty-weekday fast prior to Easter Sunday because forty is primarily the biblical number for preparation. Moses stayed on the mountain for forty days, Israel remained in the wilderness for forty years, Israel’s spies waited outside of Canaan for forty days, Elijah waited forty days before hearing God’s voice in the cave, Nineveh was given forty days to repent, Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness, and now we have the great privilege to take forty days to prepare to meet the risen Christ anew. It is a powerful habit that reminds us that while we live in the wilderness now, Sunday is coming.
Q: Any interesting, Lent-related church history tidbits that you know of?
A: Our word “carnival” and the celebration of the Mardi Gras carnival has its origin in preparation of Lent. Mardi Gras occurs this year on Feb. 13 because it is one day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The Latin word “carnival” literally translates to “farewell, meat.”
Q: Thoughts, tips, or ideas for Christians interested in connecting to the history of the church through traditions?
A: This Lent, a simple way to connect yourself to the early church is to fast (in whatever way you are able) on Wednesdays and Fridays. In the “Didache,” a Christian text written sometime during the first century, we read, “But do not let your fasts be with the hypocrites (Pharisees); for they fast on Monday and Thursday; but you shall fast on Wednesday and Friday.” We pay special attention to Christ on these days because we realize that every week is a retelling of the story of Holy Week: on Wednesday we fast in remembrance of Jesus being betrayed, and on Friday we fast in remembrance of Christ crucified. There has always been something special to me about realizing that when we pray on these two days in particular, we are not only walking with Christ in Holy Week but are also praying in unison with the universal church on Earth and in Heaven.
If you’re like me, you may be reading this and thinking, “This all sounds great, but I wish I had been able to read this before Lent actually started so I could participate this year!” And I hear you—consider it a faux pas on my part for waiting until day 2 of Lent to get this one published.
But, please don’t let that discourage you from taking part in this preparation for the celebration of Easter. These are guidelines, not hard-and-fast rules, and the Holy Spirit’s work won’t be interrupted because you started a day or two late. If you’d like guided reading, the button below will link you to a devotional with readings for each day of Lent that I’m looking forward to working through this year.
Want more church history? Check out these Q&As with Jarrett from last spring:
Now, LMK:
And a recommendation:
I listened to this sermon on YouTube earlier this week and was so encouraged by Ortlund’s message. Give it a listen while you go about the rest of your week—I hope you’ll be blessed by it!