It was the second and third century A.D. in many respects the most formative period of the Christian Church. Christians were persona non grata and, on again off again, the focus of systematic persecution by the Roman authorities, simply because they weren’t as pliable to Roman civil religion as peoples of other faiths were. As a result Christians gathered underground to worship God and practice their faith so as to avoid being noticed. Even so, or precisely because other people noticed how persistent their faith was, people throughout the Empire were attracted to Christ and the Church.
Those who wanted to commit themselves to Christ and become members of the Church, as in the New Testament times, were baptized. But time and experience had demonstrated that some fall by the wayside under the pressures of opposition, on the one hand, or material temptation, on the other hand. And so the Church adapted its approach. Instead of simply baptizing on the spot any who expressed the impulse to make the commitment to Christ, it became more common for churches to wait and baptize new converts to faith in Christ on Easter Eve. That represented more vividly the passage from this life to new life in the Risen Christ. To prepare for their baptism, churches often required new converts to undergo a period of scrupulous instruction in what it meant to follow Christ – what it meant to believe and to live as He taught. It was all meant to help each new believer become strong in faith and integrity of life.
To determine what the appropriate length of the training period should be, the Church naturally looked to the biblical writings and Jesus’ life for guidance. In scripture the number 40 popped out at them, again and again. Noah was saved from drowning in the flood by spending the 40 days and nights of deluge in the ark. Moses and the Israelites were saved from slavery in Egypt and brought into new life in the Promised Land by 40 years in the wilderness. Jesus was prepared for His ministry and eventual crucifixion by the 40 days He was compelled by the Spirit to spend in the wilderness. Throughout history, the Church Fathers, as they were called, concluded that God chose to save, shape and strengthen His people in 40 segments of time – usually days. God was with them throughout to make them into what He knew they needed to become in order to serve as His people in this world. That settled it. It would be 40 days of spiritual formation, intensive Christian education, and training in how to live as Christians. So they counted back 40 days from Easter and established that time as God’s period for preparing people to follow Christ for the rest of their lives. They fasted, prayed, studied scripture, worshipped, listened to their tutors in the faith, and apprenticed themselves to following Jesus’ teachings – all in preparation for baptism and for the life in Christ’s service that their baptism inaugurated.
That’s what later became known as Lent, which actually meant spring. But ultimately what Lent was always about, what it still is about, is adopting practices that will make believers into better informed, better disciplined, better trained followers of Jesus Christ.
We Christians, in our part of the world and in these times, aren’t as well disciplined as Christians in other places and times. We’re sort of spiritually flabby in many ways. We’re not faced with persecution, and we certainly don’t require much of ourselves in ways that might distinguish us from anyone else. But just because we’ve become more comfortable about our spirituality doesn’t mean we couldn’t benefit from formative disciplines of faith. And what better time frame is there than Lent to do it?
It doesn’t matter what analogy you use – school, work, sports, military, or 12-step programs. They all follow the same practice, and it’s never easy and not always much fun. Each one teaches that if you want to do well at what you’re supposed to do in that framework, you have to be teachable and be trained to develop your abilities. You have to learn to think differently. You have to learn the skills involved in what you’ll be called upon to do. You have to learn, practice, train and discipline yourself in the concepts and the skills you’ll need to perform for the tasks involved in the job. Well, it’s the same with living as a follower of Christ in this world. So, whether you think of it as continuing education, job training, sports camp, boot camp, or working the steps, Lent is meant to help you become a stronger and more capable disciple of Christ. Adopt a spiritual discipline, this Lent, and just do it.
There are several study, discussion and prayer groups that are being offered to help: Wednesday Night Live, the Celebration of Discipline study group offered by Bess Wilson, A Moms’ discussion group offered by Tracy Wilkinson, the Thursday morning Bible study of the Book of Acts offered by the Rector, and The Rector’s Forum on Sunday mornings.
Affectionately in Christ,Phil +
click here for Ash Wednesday services and study groups for Lent.