easter
Lent Mercies
By Craig E. Mattson
Guest Writer
CBN.com
– I'm not sure I'd even heard of the word "Lent" 'till I was
in my twenties. On one occasion thereafter, when I mentioned the season publicly,
a member of my own denomination took me aside to explain the way of things. Lent,
he said, was something that Catholics do. They deny themselves for a single season
out of the year, but we now deny ourselves all the time.
I remember being unconvinced
of our purported perpetual asceticism, not the least because my advisor had a
thirty-nine-inch waistline. I was myself anything but a creature acquainted with
self-denial.
On the other hand, I understand why my own faith tradition doesn't
generally participate in this time of fasting, a reluctance that must be partially
traced to the Puritan distrust of Lenten observance (those stalwarts actually
referred to the custom as "idolatrous"). This rejection of a season
of fasting and repentance might seem odd in a sect that H. L. Mencken described
as smitten with "the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy."
But the Puritan branch of the Reformation objected to ceremonies that smacked
of Roman Catholicism.
Latter-day John Bunyans still hold to the "regulative
principle," which (simply put) entails eschewal of man-made worship traditions
in favor of explicitly Biblical customs. I say, the "Puritan branch of the
Reformation," because no less a Reformer than Luther loved the observances
of the Christian Year.
To complicate things further, J. I. Packer, known as the
"Last Puritan," treasures the Book
of Common Prayer, in which may be found some of the most eloquent Lenten
collects.
All that said, no branch of Christendom will object to the setting
aside of forty days in the year to remember the Temptation and Passion of our
Lord. A Puritan might ask (as a friend asked me once) why
Lenten devotees choose this season in particular, but there are several good answers
to that question.
More than one Christian thinker has pointed out that the joy
of the Easter feast is significantly heightened by the somberness of the Lenten
fast. My own denomination sometimes observes an Easter pancake breakfast, thereby
ending Lent in the way other faith traditions begin it with a sort of "Johnny-come-lately
Pancake Tuesday." In any case, a Paschal breakfast naturally means a great
deal more to those who have fasted through Good Friday.
Also, it is fairly
certain that in the early centuries of Christian history, converts to the faith
were instructed in their newfound creed and eventually baptized during this season.
To fast during Lent, therefore, might be thought of as a way to enjoy the communion
of the saints -- both past and present -- a communion that many Christians honor
in the Apostles'
Creed. Furthermore, as Samuel Johnson declared (through his amanuensis Boswell), unless we set aside certain days for particular
remembrances, we will probably fail to remember.
Finally, the word "Lent"
comes from a Middle English word meaning "spring," and it's hard not
to see a lovely correspondence between this time of the year and this part of
the Christian calendar.
In one of the "Lake Woebegone" monologues, Garrison
Keillor tells the tale of a Lutheran who resolved not to drink beer during Lent.
This proved a too-daunting task, however, and the poor fellow had to go to church
with a weight on his conscience -- and perhaps with something convicting on his
breath as well. But the story closes, as I remember it, with the sinner-saint
leaving the church service and stepping out into the warm mercy of a spring evening.
For all of us, the lengthening of the days at this time of the year proves itself,
as Keillor points out, a reminder of the grace of God.
Spring means that the sun
shines longer and longer on the just and -- thank the sweet Christ -- on the unjust
as well.
More Easter Resources on CBN.com
Craig E. Mattson
lives in Lansing, where he changes diapers for a living, while his wife studies
law. On the side, he works out of a home studio for a national radio network.
When not reading "Goodnight Moon," to his daughter, he works towards a PhD in
communication at Regent University.
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