Originaly Posted on March 4, 2011
The season of Lent begins this coming Wednesday. For a number of years now our church has encouraged each of us to take the 40 days prior to Easter in a different way—slower, more reflective, and with fasting.
Growing up in the Adventist Church, I never heard anything about Lent. I suppose that’s because it was considered a part of the Catholic tradition and we were opposed to all things Catholic. In fact there was an intangible fear of anything that seemed remotely Catholic. What is often forgotten in the hysteria about Catholicism is that from about 350 to 1517, the Catholic Church (as well as the Eastern Orthodox Church which branched off in 1054) was the only church. We were all Catholic, so to speak. So, it wasn’t Catholics who adopted the doctrine of the Trinity at the Council of Nicea. It was Christians. It wasn’t Catholics who determined the way of practicing church in buildings with pews and altars and the way the Lord’s Supper was celebrated. It was Christians.
Very few practices that we hold as important to our faith are specifically commanded in Bible. Sure, we are told to pray, but we not given one posture in which to pray or told how often or how long we are to pray. In fact, when the Bible does prescribe certain prayer practices, Protestants have often rejected them because of their perceived associations with Catholicism (the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:9–13 or set times of prayer in Psalm 119:164 and Psalm 55:17).
I would suggest to you that there is nothing fundamentally anti-Protestant or anti-Adventist about spending forty days in prayerful reflection and repentance. As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, this posture of soul-searching, confession of sin, and sanctification is distinctly Adventist as anyone who has spent time reading Ellen White will know. As mature and maturing Christians it is important to be able to distinguish between something that does not adhere to biblical faith and things that are feared by their association with something we’ve been told is bad. Confessing your sins to another person is biblical (James 5:16). Teaching that you have to confess your sins to a priest in order to find God’s forgiveness is not. There is a big difference.
All that being said, if the whole idea of Lent and Ash Wednesday makes you queasy, then just let it go by or call it something else, but certainly don’t pass up an opportunity to open your life to the searching eye of God that He might sanctify you for His purpose and mission.
Finally, I wrote a short article about Ash Wednesday and Lent in 2009, which you can read here. I hope you will find it helpful.
If you would like to join us for our Ash Wednesday services this year, they will be held on Wednesday, March 9, at 7:00 a.m. in the small prayer chapel and at 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Hope to see you there!.
—Ryan
Edited to change some historical facts.
