Church Season: Lent

Every year, we celebrate Christmas and Easter, but seldom do we make any spiritual preparations for these two most important Christian festivals.

Lent is indeed an excellent opportunity for spiritual preparation! Believers engage in self-reflection, practice repentance and faith, enter into the rhythm of the season, and rediscover the healing and salvation of Christ.

The term "Lent" comes from Old English and means "spring time”. In the second century, believers only observed a few days of fasting before Easter. It wasn't until the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD that the fasting period was officially set at forty days, hence the name "Lent" or “Quadragesima”: derived from the Latin word for “fortieth”, and “gesima” meaning days.

Since every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ, fasting is considered inappropriate on these days. Therefore, each Sunday breaks the spiritual rhythm of Lent, celebrating the resurrection event. Hence, in modern calculations, Lent extends for 40 days (forty) + 6 Sundays  (celebrations), totaling 46 days.

In the early church, there was a tradition of conducting baptisms on Easter. They would use the Lenten period to prepare the initiates for their baptismal journey, including teaching doctrines and the Christian life standards in a baptismal class (called "baptism" because the immersion process involves immersing a person’s entire body in water). This is similar to our "Knowing Him" classes, along with a series of practices such as repentance, fasting, prayer, and alms giving, to prepare them with a clean heart for the baptism at Easter.

Lent is a season of practicing resistance against the temptations of sin. By entering into the rhythm of dying to sin and living to God in Christ, we resist Satan's temptations through the power of repentance and fasting, just as Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness. We are determined to spend more time walking with God than usual, deepening our personal relationship with Him, promoting the growth of our spiritual lives, and not forgetting our neighbours in need, practicing generosity, and anticipating the coming of Christ's resurrection in the midst of darkness.

Invitation:

In the 40 days of Lent, explore the meaning of being in the wilderness, discovering the hidden growth and grace within it. At the same time, prepare to embrace the mission of "transforming generations" and ready yourself for a life that can carry out His calling.