Words of Reflection
Those who start a Lenten journey might be a little confused if they were to check their calendars and do a little math.
Lent is traditionally thought of as a 40-day season of fasting before Easter. The number makes sense, after all, 40 is very Biblical. It’s the number of days of rain in the Genesis flood, the Hebrews spent 40 years wandering in the desert, Moses fasted for 40 days on Mt. Sinai when receiving the law, and (most significantly for Lent) Jesus went to the wilderness and fasted for 40 days while being tempted. So having a 40-day fast before Easter seems right.
But what doesn’t seem right, at first, is the math. If you look at a calendar and count from Ash Wednesday to the Saturday before Easter, you find that there are actually 46 days in all (in fact, not all church traditions agree on what day Lent ends, making the number different and the confusion even greater). So what’s up with that? How many days is Lent anyway?
Part of the answer to all the confusion lies…in the Sundays.
There are six Sundays in Lent, and while they are part of the Lenten season, they are not considered to be part of the Lenten fast.. In fact, Sundays are traditionally always thought of as “feast days.” Some refer to them as “mini-Easters,” and that’s a very apt phrase. They are the day the church gathers in worship and celebrates the saving grace of God in the proclamation of the Word, the lifting of praise, and the communal sharing in a remembrance of what Christ has done for us. On Sundays we all dwell richly in the story of God’s amazing love, and the joy of the resurrection cannot be completely ignored or else the story would be incomplete. It is perhaps cast in a somewhat different light, as the call of our Lenten journey still beckons to us even on Sundays, but it is there. It reminds us where this journey is going. It helps us remember that God is unfolding a much bigger plan. And it offers us hope.
In these difficult days the message of the “mini-Easters” is needed more than ever. As more than one person has observed, it feels like we’ve been “living Lent” for the past few years. And while it’s still important to set aside time in these 40-ish days to be reminded of our call to take up our cross and follow Christ, perhaps these Sundays take on an even more significant role as we navigate the waters of these stressful days in desperate need of a hopeful word.
As Paul reminds us, hope does not put us to shame. That’s a timely word, not only for a journey to the cross, but for the journey we find ourselves on right now in the midst of so many things that can bring despair. On Sundays during Lent, let’s celebrate a “mini-Easter.” Let’s feast on the glory of God’s redeeming love. Let’s embrace the invitation to hope.
Scripture for Meditation:
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
—Romans 5:1-5 (NRSV)
Song: I Set My Hope On Jesus
When this life of trials tests my faith
I set my hope on Jesus
When the questions come and doubts remain
I set my hope on Jesus
For the deepest wounds that time won’t heal
There’s a joy that runs still deeper
There’s a truth that’s more than all I feel
I set my hope on JesusI set my hope on Jesus
My rock my only trust
Who set His heart upon me first
I set my hope on JesusThough I falter in this war with sin
I set my hope on Jesus
When I fail the fight and sink within
I set my hope on Jesus
Though the shame would drown me in its sea
And I dread the waves of justice
I will cast my life on Calvary
I set my hope on JesusI set my hope on Jesus
My rock my only trust
Who set His heart upon me first
I set my hope on JesusThough the world calls me to leave my Lord
I set my hope on Jesus
Though it offers all its vain rewards
I set my hope on Jesus
Though this heart of mine is prone to stray
Give me grace enough to finish
Till I worship on that final day
I set my hope on JesusI set my hope on Jesus
My rock my only trust
Who set His heart upon me first
I set my hope on Jesus
Keith Getty | Matt Boswell | Matt Papa
© 2023 Getty Music Hymns and Songs; Getty Music Publishing; Love Your Enemies Publishing; Messenger Hymns
Questions for Contemplation:
What are some ways during this Lenten journey that you can mark Sundays as different, as days set apart to dwell in the hope of God shown in the cross and the empty tomb? Are there some Scriptures, prayers, songs, or other intentional practices you can build into these “mini-Easters” as a way of celebrating?
As you seek to dwell in the hope of Christ during these difficult days, what points of connection (to God, to his word, to others) might be helpful for you? What points of connection are already meaningful?
Our song lyrics invite us to set our hope on Jesus, “Who set His heart upon me first.” What does that line mean for you? Spend some time in prayer and gratitude for the love willing to give of itself in that way.