The Lenten season is the period of time in the traditional church calendar from Ash Wednesday (this year on Feb. 26) to Holy Saturday, the day before Easter (April 12th). Excluding the six Sundays that fall during that time, the Lenten season is forty days long, hearkening the Christian back to the 40 days of the sin-destroying rain of the flood of Noah (Gen. 7:11-15), the forty years of the penitential wandering of the children of Israel (Josh. 5:6), and the 40 days of Christ in the wilderness, in which He fasted and was then tempted by Satan (Matt. 4:1-11; Mk. 1:9-11; Lk. 3:21-22; Jn. 1:31-34).
Lent is a penitential season, that is, a period of time each year for the Christian to examine themselves spiritually. How have they strayed from their Savior Jesus over this past year? What have they done or left undone? What have they thought or said? What bad habits have they begun and good habits abandoned? Have they continued in prayer and study and service and in the regular reception of the Lord’s Supper?
Writing to the Corinthian Christians the Apostle Paul was quite blunt when he asserted simply:
“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (2 Cor. 13:5).
The season of Lent allows Christians to do this annually and purposefully.
Beginning on Ash Wednesday, six special worship services will be held at Prince of Peace on the Wednesdays of Lent (at 3:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.) to provide the opportunity for such self-examination, reflection, and greater commitment to Christ our Savior. This year we will focus on the people around Jesus who misjudged Him (Feb. 26), betrayed Him (Mar. 4), failed Him (Mar. 11), denied Him (Mar. 18), would kill Him (Mar. 25), and simply use Him for their own purpose (Apr. 1) .
The last week of the season of Lent is called Holy Week. During that week, special services are held to commemorate the events of the last week of the life of Christ before His crucifixion and resurrection. Almost a third of the gospels of Matthew (Mt. 21-28) and Mark (Mk. 11-16), and almost half of the gospel of John (Jn. 11-21) describe the events of that week. So special worship services are held on Maundy Thursday (Apr. 9)–the night Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper, Good Friday (Apr. 10)–the day of His crucifixion, and Holy Saturday (Apr. 11)–the day He was in the tomb.
Other traditions of Lent that can be observed outside the church include fasting in one form or another, greater amounts of daily time committed to prayer, and a more extensive reading of Scripture. Abstaining from certain entertainments during the season can be helpful as well.
The color for the season within the church is purple, and the worship services are less festive, with more joyous expressions of music and verse omitted until the season is complete.
Perhaps you, as a Christian, have never observed the season of Lent. Or perhaps you just want to know more about Jesus. If so, we humbly invite you to observe the season of Lent with us this year at Prince of Peace.