Lent: Who needs it?

Here is a blurb that I prepared for our church bulletins about the season of Lent, borrowed from the United Methodist Book of Worship:

Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. It comes from an old word that originally meant “spring.” Historically, Lent began as a period of fasting and preparing for baptism. Then it grew to include a time of penance for all Christians. In these days we try to focus on the season’s original meaning as preparation for baptism and for Easter, living out the baptismal covenant more faithfully. It’s not primarily about penitence, and Ash Wednesday is the only day when we focus on that aspect. The rest of the Sundays and weekdays in Lent are about living as those who are baptized, and what it means to be forgiven for our sins.

As you can see, in the Methodist tradition Lent is more about looking ahead than looking back. Repentance and penance are important, but only inasmuch as those attitudes free the worshipper to pursue their identity in Christ's own sacrificial work on our behalf.

An early Methodist class meeting
Photo from unitedmethodistreporter.com

Apparently, John Wesley was no big fan of Lenten observances. A fascinating blog post by Taylor Burton-Edwards shows that Wesley's first prayer book for the American Methodists did not even mention the season of Lent at all. That's because Wesley's movement was centered around regular small groups that met for encouragement and accountability. These 'classes' or 'bands' required their members to confess their sins to each other every week. Doing so during a special season would have seemed redundant, and much too infrequent for Wesley's taste.


To Wesley confession was not an end in itself. It was just a necessary step toward recognizing the grace that God grants through forgiveness. If you are fasting or abstaining from something this season, make sure that practice is freeing you to experience Christ's power. If you miss a meal, then fill that time with prayer and worship. Rather than watching your favorite TV show, spend that time writing or calling someone who needs encouragement. Lent is not about feeling sorry for yourself. It's about 'leaning forward' into the new life that was given to us on Easter Sunday.