Forty Days
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days. – Luke 4:1-2 ESV
The time has arrived once again for the season of Lent. In these weeks preceding Easter, churches of our liturgical type take on a more somber tone. We dress the church up in purple. We talk more about fasting, sin, and repentance. We use symbols associated with the suffering of Jesus. And as is the custom in many places, we remove the word “alleluia” from worship. This word “alleluia” just means “praise the Lord.” In Lent, the focus is not on praise, but on God’s call to turn to Him and be renewed.
In the Bible, there are certain numbers that keep popping up. One of those is the number seven (7), which has to do with wholeness and completeness. Another is the number twelve (12). God’s people of Israel were divided into twelve tribes. Jesus chose twelve apostles. But another is the number forty (40). Forty is often used as a number to describe a full and complete reign of a king. More familiar might be the flood Noah experienced, described in Genesis chapters 6-9, which lasted for forty days and forty nights. More relevant for the season of Lent, the Israelite people wandered in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. During that time, which you can read about in the books of Exodus and Numbers, Moses and the Israelites faced temptation. They often failed and looked to God for mercy.
So when Jesus came on the scene hundreds of years later, it’s no mere coincidence that he was tempted for forty days and forty nights. After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and there he faced the assault of the devil, trying to trick him into abandoning his mission and instead take the easy way out. But each time, Jesus refused.
The season of Lent lasts for forty days, not including the Sundays. These forty days symbolize the forty days that our Lord Jesus faced temptation. In the life of the Christian Church, this season was designed to remind the faithful of the reality of temptation in their own lives and of the importance of vigilance in prayer and devotion.
As Jesus fasted (went without food) for those forty days and nights, it is common for Christians to fast during this season by “giving something up for Lent.” Common things that people try to ditch for Lent include chocolate, television, and even social media. Last year, I gave up Facebook for Lent, and I will probably do so again this year.
But it’s not only about giving things up. Lent is also an invitation to add things into our life that were missing before, chief among them prayer and more consistency with it. Another thing to consider is almsgiving, contributing to the needs of others and the world. When we develop those habits, we find our life changed in relationship with God.
To be honest, I’ve always had mixed feelings about the season of Lent. I like this time of year, especially the worship and hymns. But especially as a Lutheran, placing so much emphasis on what we as human beings do makes me uncomfortable. After all, our faith is not about what we do to please God. Rather, it is about God’s graciousness to us through the gift of His Son.
So what is Lent all about for us? How do we understand fasting? Unfortunately, a practice like fasting from certain things can be understood in the wrong way. “Giving something up for Lent” can turn into a silly game of self-improvement or more harmfully the idea that our spiritual practices earn us favor in the sight of God.
We do not earn points with God by giving something up for Lent. The idea behind it is that when we experience a desire for something that we cannot have, it is a reminder to pray to the God who loves us. This does take discipline. Fasting and prayer have been a part of Christian life from the earliest days.
Lent is also not meant to be a legalistic list of things you can and can’t do during these forty days. Certainly, we can praise God anytime, and we should. But Lent is a reminder that our faith vocabulary needs to be more than just “alleluia.” Praising God is great. But we also need to learn to express our faith in different ways. There are times in life when we don’t feel like or can’t praise God. There are times in life when we find ourselves down, when we need to repent, to seek God’s mercy.
The reality is that the sinful world around us can be harmful. Like Jesus did, we face temptation daily. Lent is a call for us to remember the reality of our situation, our mortality, and our weakness. But it is also a call to remember God who is strong on our behalf, who held nothing back in the gift of His Son, who wins for us the ultimate victory and gives us mortals, who are but dust and ashes, the hope of everlasting life.
From the great Danish Lutheran hymn writer Thomas Kingo (1634-1703 A.D.):
On my heart imprint your image, blessed Jesus, king of grace, that life’s troubles nor its pleasures ever may your work erase; let the clear inscription be: Jesus crucified for me, is my life, my hope’s foundation, all my glory and salvation. (Lutheran Book of Worship, 102)
Pr. Tom Jacobson