Clueless Guide to Lent

Lent is now in full swing and millions of Christians will begin forty days and nights of fasting, prayer and reflection. Sort of, but not really as there are plenty of misconceptions. Let's try and sort it all out and explain.

We are a culture that would rather think we are doing something right and appear to be following a ritual flawlessly, than actually perform a ritual as it should be carried out, just so we can feel good about life and say we are part of something.

What is Lent? Lent is the 40 day period of time preceding Easter. The word itself is of Teutonic origin meaning spring season. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes this period of time as one of personal reflection and meditation of faith.

Why are there 40 days in the Lenten period leading to Easter? The number 40 is a familiar throughout the bible in both the Old and New Testaments. It's the number of days and nights the rain falls while Noah and crew sail in search of dry land. It's also the number of days Moses spends on Mt. Sinai waiting to get an eco-friendly (save the trees!) rock tablet known as the Ten Commandments. Forty is the number of days Jesus retreats to the desert while constantly avoiding the devil's temptations and as the Crossroads Initiative site suggests is the amount of weeks of gestational time a child spends in the womb. At the end of each process is a new beginning.

We are commonly asked, "What will you give up for Lent?" Some people will give up a favorite snack food only to binge incessantly on a different snack that they didn't give up. The point of sacrificing something you like is to provoke awareness and self control. If all religions derive ideas from one another, then it can be said that the Christian Lenten observances seem to take a page from the Buddhist teachings of The Four Noble Truths of which detachment from cravings is taught and part of the journey towards Nirvana.

What good is it to forego meat on Friday's during Lent only to attend a popular fish fry and gorge on endless fried fish with all the trimmings? Some of these Lenten observances look similar to Thanksgiving meals. This doesn't sound like a time of personal reflection though meditation of faith. It sounds more like a feeding frenzy of uncontrollable proportions.

A fringe benefit of following Lenten traditions more closely will be a clearer sense of self control and a cleaner conscience from meditation contributing to a healthier lifestyle. You'll enjoy Easter much more and benefit from all springs new beginnings minus all the fried fish in your belly.

Sources

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm

http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/7/Forty_Days_of_Lent.html