When the average person hears the word Lent, what comes to mind?
In Illinois, according to the stats from Pew Research, around 62 percent identify as being Christian, 8 percent categorized as other and 29 percent as unaffiliated with religion.
And when you look at the 62 percent that claim Christianity, we find the breakdown as follows: Evangelical Protestant comes in with 16 percent, Mainline Protestant with 13 percent, historically Black Protestant, 7 percent, Catholic, 23 percent and Orthodox Christian, 2 percent. There are three other subcategories with less than 1 percent each.
When looking at all these stats, what comes to mind is this: There are likely plenty of people that hear Christians talk about Lent and think of clothing lint instead of a Christian traditional practice. That even includes fellow believers from other faith traditions.
Lent dates back to around 325 A.D. and some even place it as far back as the tail end of the first century. An early church father Irenaeus (130-202 AD) wrote to the pope of the time asking for clarification about the number of days of the pre-Easter fast. What this tells us is that Lent practices have been around for a very long time.
Whether you practice Lent or not and to what extent you do practice it matters very little. What is meant by that is this: If our hearts and lives are not transformed by what we do, then we need to change what we are doing. If you abstain from meat, do so for spiritual benefit. If you fast, do so for spiritual growth. If you give up any luxury, replace it with the word of God.
Lent can be a season wherein we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate all Jesus has done for us on the cross. If we are preparing ourselves mentally, physically and spiritually this will give us opportunities that we need to take seriously.
To paraphrase Jesus in Matthew 5: Be Salty: Stay Lit. Salt enhances flavor. As Christians we are to season the world around us and give it greater taste. Light dispels darkness. As Christians we are to reflect the light of Christ to a world living in darkness and hopelessness.
If your current Lent practices are not enhancing your Saltiness or your Light, consider changing it up this season. If you’ve never practiced Lent, then why not try it this season? There are near countless reading plans, devotionals, videos and podcasts you can find to help you experience preparing for Easter.
If you are needing a place to worship this Lent season you are sincerely invited to join us Sunday mornings at State Road Community Church at 8:45 a.m. (State Hwy 81, west of German Corners) or Church of Peace at 10:30 a.m. (28358 N 900th Ave, Kewanee).
In his service always,
Andrew P. Christman
Pastor of State Road Church & Church of Peace
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
