Lent

Nearly everyone tries at some time or other a new diet programme, a self-help book, or a new form of therapy that seems to guarantee success.

The market for such products has been flourishing since the 1950s. Who can forget Charles Atlas? But in the last 20 years, there has been a huge expansion in the promotion of self-help, quick-fix and DIY books…The Hip-Thigh Diet, Superwoman, or How to get to the Top in Five Easy Steps. Even the church has jumped on the bandwagon, with a plethora of programmes promising quick results from easy-to-follow-formulae.

What many of these books and courses promise is near-instant results, provided the recipe is followed to the letter. And maybe even a money-back guarantee if not fully satisfied. But most consumers who are disappointed never write for refunds – a mixture of guilt, indolence and embarrassment sees to that. Who can forget the ‘lose weight in 30 days [super new] cabbage diet’? ‘Lots of recipes with cabbage; you’ll shed the pounds’…but it forgets to mention that you’ll lose your friends too, who are not likely to come near you for several weeks.

Lent is traditionally a time of penitence and self-denial, marking the days before Easter. In all probability, the first Christians spent only part of Holy Week preparing for Easter in this way; but as Christianity matured and spread, the periods of abstinence became longer and more formalised. Candidates preparing for Easter baptism were encouraged to fast for lengthy periods. In the early Eastern Churches, the fast was for seven weeks, but did not include Saturdays and Sundays (except Holy Saturday), which adds up to 36 days. In the early Western churches, the fast was for six weeks, but excluded Sundays – and therefore was also 36 days. The tradition of 40 days – although a biblical number that recalls the fasting of Moses, Elijah and Jesus – only became more strictly observed by Christians in later history. Traditionally, the fast begins on Ash Wednesday and it ends on Easter Sunday. The 40 days and nights of Lent therefore do not include Sundays, which are reserved for ‘refreshment’.

The practice of fasting in Lent has also varied. In early Christian history, one meal a day was taken usually towards evening. In later times, the meal was taken at midday. Various prohibitions on meat, fish and eggs have also existed in different times and cultures – all with the intention of preparing Christians for Holy Week.

The practice of liturgy has also followed the developments in the history of Lenten observance. The season, because it is more focussed on penitence, does not use the Gloria in Excelsis (sung or said), but replaces it with the Kyrie Eleison – ‘Lord have mercy’. Purple – the liturgical colour of penitence, or unbleached linen – marks the Lenten season too, reminding Christians of the relationship between sin and salvation, which reaches its climax in Holy Week and at Easter.
The familiar scriptural readings that accompany us through Lent are also intended to help us as we journey through the penitential season. Typically, churches begin with readings that remind us that Jesus was tempted. And we are reminded to repent. Because the temptations that Jesus is offered all cluster round seminal issues that are not that alien to our culture: diet – you will perform miracles with food; career – you will rule; and longevity – you will live.

Yet the temptations are more subtle than they first appear. For a start, like all true temptations, they are not ridiculous, but only slightly less true than something more worthy. These temptations are all things that Jesus will has to negotiate in his earthly ministry. But the questions are: Will the end justify the means? Is the shortcut worth it? Does what is offered really match up to what is true?

After all, Jesus does perform miracles with food – he feeds thousands with a few loaves. Has he not succumbed to the tempter here? Does Jesus not get to be lifted up, and glorified? What then is the tempters’ problem? It is only giving Jesus his due a little earlier – a bit like opening the presents a few days before Christmas. Does Jesus not throw himself before to the Romans, perhaps knowing he will be raised up? Why not simply prove it now? In one way, you could say that Jesus lives his life giving in to the temptations; for he does test God; he does concoct some food into more; and he does rule and reign.

But the key is timing. The Kingdom of God is a slow process of building, and unlike our quick-fix, instant self-help guides, this kingdom cannot be built in 30 or 40 days. Put simply, the three traditional Lenten temptations of Jesus are really only one: why not take a short cut? Well, three reasons occur, that help us through the journey of Lent.

First, shortcuts don’t usually work – they cheat the journey of faith. In trying to shorten the long and winding road of discipleship, we may miss out on much of God’s company and wisdom.

Second, God’s work is slow; the Christian life is a marathon, not a sprint. Discipleship and holiness are built slowly, with years of patience, practice and learning.  Lent can’t be done in 10 days or 20 minutes. Shortcuts can devalue our discipleship.

Third, shortcuts rob other people of the chance to respond and grow. It may well be possible to grow a church or a ministry very quickly. The results can be spectacular. But now try and sustain it. Not so easy. There is no substitute for hard work. That’s why miracle diets don’t really work. So don’t try a thirty day wonder; slowly change the way you eat; effort and will are better than quick-fix cures.

So in one way, Lent is all about slowing down, and leaving quick-fix solutions behind. It is about the patient deepening of our relationship with God, and doing so in a thorough and methodical way. The aim is not to achieve instant success, but steady and deep growth. Fruit that lasts comes from hard graft. Jesus, in his Lent, turns his back on instant glory, instant results and an easy, happy ending. He will be glorified; he will get results; there will be a resurrection. But it has to be in God’s time, not ours.

So, Jesus in Lent is a kind of archetype. In surrendering himself to God, he turns his back on cutting corners, short cuts, the end justifying the means, and also, incidentally, shuns the shadows of our instant culture. Instead, he invites us all to walk, slowly, with him to Calvary. Be sure you don’t run, and don’t take short cuts – you’ll miss something. You’ll miss the slow, patient God, who is often found in the slog of ordinary life, and not in the impostors of instant results and quick victories. A surrendered life is Jesus’ path; it is all he asks of you.

Small wonder, then, that the first time Jesus appears, in Mark’s gospel, the first instruction he gives is ‘Repent’. (So in one way, the gospels really begin in Lent). From then on, ‘repent’ is his most consistent message. I once heard an enthusiastic preacher say that ‘repentance means turning yourself completely around. It means turning around 360 degrees’. I could only agree that, too often, that’s exactly what it means – we end up back where we started. A 180 degree turn is what is needed. A careful and deliberate turn away from what distracts us from God, not just spinning around, hoping that what tempted us in the first place will miraculously disappear when our back is turned. It won’t.

Fr. Alexander Men, an outspoken Russian priest who was assassinated in 1990 at the end of Perestroika, wrote: ‘The good news of Christ was preceded by a call to repentance...and the very first word of Jesus’ teaching was ‘Repent.’ Remember that in Hebrew this word means ‘turn around,’ and ‘turn away from the wrong road.’ While in the Greek text of the gospels, it is rendered by an even more resonant word, metanoite. In other words, rethink your life. This is the beginning of healing.

Repentance is not a sterile grubbing around in one’s soul, and not some masochistic self-humiliation, but a re-evaluation leading to action. The abscess must be lanced, otherwise there will be no cure.’

Our quest for Lent, then, is the same as it has been for every Christian throughout history. Can we turn aside from the world that sometimes threatens to seduce us all, and look for something deeper? Remember what Jesus says: ‘for where you treasure is, so will your heart be’. This is the start of our journey into Holy Week, and to the risen Christ at Easter.

The early Christians, then, observed Lent. That is to say, they didn’t just look at the 40 day period that lay ahead with either indifference or fear. Rather, they entered into the spirit of the season and practiced it. They saw it as an opportunity to re-evaluate their lives, perhaps laying aside those things that distracted and impeded spiritual development and the quest for a holier and purer life. They saw it as a chance to de-clutter their relationship with God; to concentrate on, focus and re-centre their discipleship through self-denial and penitence.

Moreover, they didn’t just set things aside. They also took on new disciplines and responsibilities. So whatever you do this Lent, try and mark the season by changing the rhythms and routines of your life – and in so doing, make a little more room for God.

Martyn Percy’s Darkness Yielding –
sermons and mediations for Lent and Advent – is published by SCM-Canterbury Press, and includes contributions from Bill Vanstone, Rowan Williams, Sylvia Sands and Jim Cotter.
Revd. Canon Prof. Martyn Percy is the Principal of Ripon College Cuddesdon and the Oxford Ministry Course.