A few words about Lent

Do you know how the dates of Easter, Ash Wednesday, and Lent are established?  We’ve been discussing this in some of the music groups at Holy Comforter, as we prepare for the coming season.  In the western church, Easter Day is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.  Whew!  Actually, the full moon involved is not the astronomical full moon, but an ecclesiastical moon (determined from tables) that usually is the same as the astronomical moon.  The word “vernal” means “spring“, and “equinox” literally means “equal night.”  On the date of an equinox, the sun is positioned above the equator, meaning that day and night are approximately equal in length all over the world.  The vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere occurs on the same date as the autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere.

The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22; the latest is April 25.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and is 46 days before Easter Sunday, with the date of Easter determining the date of Ash Wednesday.  The season of Lent lasts for forty days – reminding us of Christ’s time in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry – plus Sundays.  This year Easter is on April 4.  That means that Ash Wednesday is on Feb. 17 this year.

The season of Lent (forty days plus Sundays) offers us an annual opportunity to renew and strengthen our spiritual lives.  Many themes are highlighted during Lent, including repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, healing and baptism.  In our daily spiritual walk, we may choose to live out these themes through special times of prayer, study, meditation, and fasting.  We may endeavor to give up a particular food or a bad habit.  We may strive to be more deliberate about personal prayer time and devotions, studying the Bible, talking with God, and listening for His voice.  We may use this season to begin a positive new course of action, such as participation in one or more of the many ministry opportunities at Holy Comforter.  

The word “Lent” originated in the Anglo-Saxon word “lencten,” which means “the time of the lengthening days,” or simply “spring.”  Historically, the season has grown backwards from Easter Day to encompass forty days, excluding Sundays, which are always feast days, and therefore are referred to as Sundays IN Lent, rather than Sundays OF Lent.  In the early church, Lent was a time for extensive teaching, especially for candidates preparing for baptism.

The importance of Lent is marked in our liturgical life.  At Holy Comforter, we observe a few of the many possibilities available to emphasize this season of penitence.  We omit the joyful word “alleluia.”  We omit the hymn of praise: “Gloria to God” or “This Is the Feast.”  This year we will return to the chant-like, more subdued Setting Five of the liturgy. 

With Christians all over the world, we will observe Ash Wednesday on February 17, with services at noon and 7:30 p.m. at Holy Comforter Lutheran Church.  This begins the season of Lent and the start of the Easter or Paschal Cycle in the life of the church.  We will have a simple soup lunch following the noon service. 

We will have soup suppers at 6:00 on Wednesdays during Lent, followed by our usual WoW (Worship, Word and Witness on Wednesdays) activities and Bible studies.  Each Wednesday evening will culminate in a brief worship service of Evening Prayer (Vespers) at 7:30.   The services will include drama presentations of some of the events of Holy Week – the last day of Jesus’ life on earth, in a series entitled Prayers of the Passion.  Our Lenten journey will be enriched by attending and participating in these services together as a church family. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!