One misconception about Lent is that it is a Roman Catholic practice. This is true to an extent, because it is in fact practiced by Roman Catholics all over the world. But the tradition of Lent dates back long before Roman Catholicism; we have evidence that Lent was observed at least as far back as the fourth century, when Christianity was more widely practiced in the Middle East than in the city of Rome. In fact, most Christians observe Lent. Eastern Orthodox Christians; Catholics; and some Protestant groups, including Anglicans/Episcopalians, Presbyterians, and Methodists. I even know of many Baptist churches who observe Lent, such as Liberty Road Baptist Church in Greensboro, NC! But since many American Protestant churches do not observe Lent, and Methodism has only recently began to re-kindle its observance, the common misconception is that Lent is a "Catholic" thing.
Lent has been observed in different ways around the world and in history. Modern practice typically includes the idea of fasting, which is an ancient religious practice of self-denial for the sake of growing spiritually and in discipline. Fasting is discussed explicitly in the Bible. One such instance is Matthew 6:16-18, during Jesus' Sermon on the Mount: "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." The variety of fasting that Jesus is talking about is fasting from all food, which can make one rather weak, and this would be visible on the face. It is understood that particularly holy Jews at the time would show of their fasting as a way for people to know that they were religious, pious and even holier-than-thou. His rebuke of making fasting public emphasizes the true purpose of fasting, which is to grow in relationship with God rather than making an impression on others.
But this has led to another misconception about Lent: that fasting must be done completely in secret. This is simply not the case, and is impractical. There is a big difference between public, showy display of fasting and informing those close to you who need to know what you're doing so as to be able to help support you. Imagine that you were fasting from a certain food, such as pizza. If you were to keep that a secret, but the rest of your family wanted to order pizza for dinner, it would help if they knew so that either they could eat pizza elsewhere, or at least order you something else! The spirit of this passage is that we are to fast with God as our goal; if our fast becomes something we do for ourselves, placing our holiness at the center of attention, then we might as well not do it. Fasting isn't about you, it's about God.
And this brings up another detail I want to clarify. Fasting does not need to be from all nourishment. Sure, there is a time and place for such fasting, but generally speaking, Christians will fast from specific foods, activities or other pleasures. A prime example is how most Roman Catholics will fast from eating meat (not including seafood) for the duration of Lent; furthermore, most will also give up one or more additional things to make their fast more personal. Whatever you choose to fast from ought to be something that you actually enjoy and will long for! And every time you wish you had access to that thing, you can instead think about God, who is the true object of our desires.
Lent is a season of 40 days that ends with Easter Sunday. Lent has long been a time of preparation for Easter, for the single greatest day in the Christian calendar. But if you count the calendar days from February 10 to March 26, you will get 46 days!! Why is that? Well, that's because we do not generally fast on Sundays, which is the Lord's day, each one a mini-Easter. Traditionally Lent excludes Sundays, and unless your fast is particularly difficult to re-start one day out of seven, you are actually encouraged to partake of whatever you've fasted from each Sunday! This helps to train and discipline ourselves to look forward to Sundays as days that God has set aside for rest, relaxation and rejoicing.
Also, the way we count days is different in the post-industrial world than they were centuries ago. In Judeo-Christian practice, the beginning of a new day is at sunset, not sunrise. Therefore, we are allowed to break our fast on Saturday night at sundown, but we must resume our fast Sunday night at the same time. If you have an easier time thinking of a day in terms of your clock, from midnight to 11:59PM the next evening, that's fine! But it's important to know that this tradition is brought from centuries into the present, so if you have friends or family who break their fasts on Saturday night, you now know why!!
Ultimately, Lent is a season of disciplined growth in preparation for the cross. Together we travel in this world with our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us the importance of self-denial in the life of discipleship. Lent is this season when we embark together once again giving special attention to this crucial aspect of our faith. And as always, the center of our ambitions should increasingly become God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God in three and three in one.
Blessings and peace to you during this Lenten season.
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