For those wondering about what we teach or think about the season of Lent at Trinity. Here’s what we print in the front of our bulletins during this season:
“Lent is the season of the Church calendar that spans the 40 days leading up to Easter. Lent is from the old English word which means “lengthening” and refers to Springtime, when the days are getting longer and lighter. Another name for this season is “Quadragesima” which simply means “fortieth,” counting backwards from Easter to the fortieth day before Resurrection Sunday.
In the history of the Church, no other season has perhaps been so abused or misunderstood as Lent. Historically, Lent began as a discipleship class for new believers. It became customary to have baptisms at Easter, and so new believers would be enrolled in these classes prior to Easter to teach them the basics of the faith, frequently working through the Apostles’ Creed, the most basic Christian confession. Eventually, many leaders in the Church saw the need for all Christians to be annually reminded of the basics of the Christian faith and reminded of the basic Christian disciplines.
Over time, many practices like superstitious fasting and various forms of abstinence became substituted for real Christian disciplines and by the time of the Reformation, Lent had become something of a symbol of the oppression of the Roman church, and therefore many of the great Reformers cheerfully taught their congregations to disregard the Roman church’s rules and regulations for Lent. Standing squarely in the Reformation tradition, we want to remember and embrace their wisdom and courage in freeing the people of God from man made traditions and rules. In Christ, we are free, and no Christian man or woman should be bound by man-made customs or traditions regarding eating or fasting, food or drink, days or seasons. No one should feel any tinge of guilt for doing absolutely nothing different during Lent.
At the same time, the broader historic Church believed that it was fitting and good for the people of God to be annually reminded of the basics of the faith, to be called to greater faithfulness, and to be called to war against sin and the devil and the flesh in the hope of the resurrection. In that spirit, we celebrate Lent as a season of growing light, a season that celebrates the light of Christ come into the world, and a time to examine our lives and families, to cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. We enter this season together on Ash Wednesday remembering that the way of the cross is foolishness, the way of life is through the dust of death.”
If you’re looking for resources to learn more, try these:
From Chuck Colson at the Gospel Coalition
From Eric Metaxas at Breakpoint
And of course Peter Leithart’s 40 Reasons for Lent: An Exaltation of Tweets
A number of CREC pastors have also put this devotional guide together.
Matthew Petersen says
I’m going to try to make some relatively minor comments on these, regarding things that bother me a little:
“No one should feel any tinge of guilt for doing absolutely nothing different during Lent.”
I agree with this. The trouble I have is as follows:
The other side is also true. No one should feel any tinge of guilt for celebrating Lent wholeheartedly. While, obviously, you agree with this, where is the teaching on that side? Yesterday, someone at Christ Church told me that celebrating Lent is as mature as a dog-barking service. Where is the teaching against that sort of thing–that no one should feel any tinge of guilt for celebrating Lent wholeheartedly?
Similarly, at times, it seems that while it’s not ok to use facebook to announce your fasts, it is ok to use facebook to announce your not-fasts. And whereas I agree that it’s wrong to show off your fasts, where is the preaching against showing off your good deed of not fasting?
On the same note, the pastors at Trinity are at pains to show that they think Lent is a good thing, but there are reasons to avoid it that they can sympathize with, and if people don’t celebrate, that’s fine. But the pastors who do not celebrate Lent are willing to say “There is something really wrong [with month long penitential seasons].” (Yes, that’s a quote.) And, I may have missed it, but I don’t hear, “Though there are good reasons for celebrating Lent, here’s why I don’t. Why is there only give from one side?
In short, why is this discussion so one-sided?
Toby says
Hi Matt,
The reason the discussion is so one-sided is because we’re thoughtful, committed Protestants who think Rome got this particular area really wickedly wrong. And there’s a deeply embedded temptation in the sinful hearts of men to keep going back to that vomit.
Cheers!
Toby
Matthew Petersen says
That does not follow.
Matthew Petersen says
For a quarter of the Church’s history, Protestants have celebrated Lent. Handel’s Messiah was written because of Lent. Bach didn’t write Lent Cantatas, but only because his churches didn’t sing at all during Lent. And we’re still afraid of Roman errors not even Rome makes any more? And there isn’t a ditch on the other side to avoid? That explanation does not explain.
Matthew Petersen says
Two more comments (I thought your facebook links were to current articles, but I don’t want to comment on two year old articles).
Why do the people who celebrate Lent have to answer hard questions, but people who don’t get a pass? For instance, the verse about showing your fasts to men is taken as the end of the story. But where is the question back: “And do you let people see you in Church? Do you post facebook statuses like “wonderful Sabbath service today”? Prayers before people (which is all Church is) are *equally* forbidden.
Second, in one of your old posts, you say “Some people can only smell oppressive Roman Catholicism…” Why is it ok to throw our Catholic Brothers under the Bus? Similarly, regarding your tweets yesterday, “I think in some churches it would be more pleasing to God for the pastors to play tic-tac-toe on their people’s foreheads tomorrow.” for instance. Why not just warn us against dangers, rather than accusing *those* Christians of angering God?
Matthew Petersen says
So you answered my question about throwing Catholics under the bus by…throwing Catholics under the bus?