Why We need Lent Today
By PASTOR TONY
Feb. 25th, 2021
Despite all of the historical information that has been carefully uncovered and pieced together over the years, we still don’t really know when the practice of fasting for Lent began. We can piece together the background for fasting. We can point to periods of times and events when people would most often fast. We can even pinpoint moments in history when people would have fasted during the time we now call “Lent.” However, we still don’t know where it all started. Some say fasting for Lent was initiated at the largest gathering of church leaders in history, the Council of Nicea in 325 AD, but that’s more of a guess than an answer. I’m not here to answer that history question of “when,” rather I’m writing to answer the question of “why” we should fast for lent today.
Why do we need to deny ourselves access to many of the things we like, even love for such a specific period of time? Some choose to fast from certain foods, like practicing abstinence of meat, or certain meats. Today, many choose to fast from things other than food, like television, or social media, or other major pieces of daily life. What’s the point of fasting from these things?
“Today we could use a period of time, like Lent, to re-orient ourselves before God. We need Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Maundy Thursday again so that the valuable ends they were created for may in some way take root in our lives.”
Well… some have said there really is no point in fasting from food or anything else for a season. In fact, one of them is a practical theologian whom I respect more than any other. His name was John Wesley. How can I disagree with a man whom I respect so much; one whose theology I faithfully practice and teach today? It’s simple. The world has changed since Wesley’s ministry in the 18th Century. During his ministry, he didn’t think Lent was necessary or beneficial, so much so, that in the first prayer book and ritual that Wesley wrote for American Methodists, he chose to leave Lent out of the book entirely! Fortunately for us, he gave a reason why: “Most of the holy-days (so-called) are omitted, as at present [they answer] no valuable end.” He didn’t think Lent provided anything for Methodists that they didn’t already have. This is the question I’m asking myself and anyone reading this: does Lent provide us anything that we otherwise would not have? Lent is set up to be forty days of practical growth in God; it’s a season of putting our beliefs into motion. Practices like fasting, prayer, almsgiving, and study are the traditional disciplines one would experience during Lent. However, in 18th Century Methodism, all of these things were already being done regularly! Truly! All of them! The bar was set very high for anyone seeking to become part of this growing Methodist movement in America. The third ‘General Rule’ called all Methodists both to practice and commend others to practice “abstinence or fasting” on a regular, ongoing basis.
Things have changed. People have changed. The Methodist church looks different than it used to. While many of the changes that have taken place have been good, there are some early roots of Methodism we should take time to reconsider today. While there was a day when nearly everything that Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Maundy Thursday were thought to do or promote were being regularly accomplished, today we rarely talk about fasting, let alone practice it. There was a day when it was not bracketed off as a “special time” of 40 days in the year because it was deeply woven into the fabric of their lives throughout the whole year. However, today we could use a period of time, like Lent, to re-orient ourselves before God. We need Lent, Ash Wednesday, and Maundy Thursday again so that the valuable ends they were created for may in some way take root in our lives.