2026 March news-letter article

Greetings and salutations!

If you’ve previously been part of a Catholic, or Orthodox, or Lutheran, or Anglican, or Methodist church (or a dozen others), you may have observed Lent at some point or other in your life.  When I was recently asked about it (or lack thereof) in our church family, I wanted to say “baptists don’t do Lent” and let it be that simple, but join me as I think through Lent.  It’s good to understand what it is, and what it isn’t.  It’s good to unpack its symbolism, ponder its purpose, and consider what God might have to say to us.

Let me first tell you Lent exists (as most liturgical traditions exist) because for a majority of Church history, the Church was illiterate.  The recitations of memorized prayers and creeds trace their roots backward to the fact that with the exception of the clergy, no one could read God’s Word for themselves.  The same is true of ritualistic worship services that seem exactly the same every week.  The same is true of seasons of feasting and fasting across the liturgical calendar.  All of these things reinforce the understanding of biblical principles in the lives of congregants.  In other words, now that we can read and study God’s Word for ourselves (in our own language), it’s perfectly legitimate to eliminate some of these traditions.  It’s perfectly legitimate to continue them too, but it’s certainly not necessary.

Let me second tell you why Lent is dumb (yes, I am using hyperbole, like Jesus did in Matthew 5:29-30).  It begins 40 (or so) days before Easter; it’s actually 46 days ending on Maundy Thursday, but that explanation is too long for this article.  Certain traditions have particular rules about what you can and can’t eat on particular days of the week, but that too would be too long to explain (though everyone should search the advent of the McDonald’s Filet o’ Fish on Google!).  Many observers of Lent begin the season by receiving the “imposition of ashes” upon their foreheads.  This reminds me of what a member of my ordination council once said to me about the process of ordination (paraphrasing): ‘what does it matter if a bunch of unholy men put their unholy hands on my unholy head?’  I do see so many people on television news wearing the smudge on their heads, and wonder if they participated just to look the part for the world to see (then again, sometimes I am just a cynic).  What makes the Lenten season even more absurd is that the day before Ash Wednesday is known as “fat Tuesday” (“Mardi Gras” if you speak French).  For many, who will abstain from some thing during Lent, alcohol perhaps, or sweets, or some other indulgence, “fat Tuesday” (and the days leading up to it) provides a time to use up all that they already have.  This is the beginning of the drunken, debaucherous, gluttonous, hedonistic party traditions that characterize the Gulf coast, culminating on that Tuesday.

Alright, now that I have lampooned some of the frivolous aspects of Lent, let me encourage you with its beauty.  First, seasons of feasting and fasting are indeed biblical.  It is good to abstain (from whatever) for a period of time when we earnestly seek the face of God.  It’s also good to break the fast with a celebratory feast, having heard from God.  It is a precious thing to “taste and see that the Lord is good”, as Psalm 34 declares.

Second, hearing “you are dust, and to dust you shall return” is a direct quotation of Genesis 3:19.  It is good for our soul when we hear this truth.  It reminds us of our smallness, our insignificance, our unrighteousness, and God’s contrasting majesty.  We ought to know this daily.

Third, whether receiving the smudge of ash physically or not, we would do well to spend more time in the ashes.  Sackcloth and ashes were common symbols throughout the bible of a good posture: repentance.  Spending 40 days of repentance is a good thing; spending 365 days of repentance is a better thing.  Repent.  Repent more.  Indeed we are dust, and we have sinned against a holy God.  I deserve an eternity in hell, and I need to repent, every day.  May we mourn our sinful selves; may we mourn the cost of our sin; may we be poor in spirit, as the Beatitudes teach us.

Fourth, it is a good and godly thing to experience a season of preparation.  May we set things aside and focus our hearts upon God.  May we cry out for Him to reveal Himself in a new way.  May we seek His face, expecting for Him to show up!  May we Q-tip our ears, and get on our knees, and dig into God’s Word, and cry out to Him, and expect Him to show us aspects of His goodness and grace that we haven’t ever seen before!

Fifth, about the rhetorical question near my ordination, the answer is: “it doesn’t matter”.  It matters not if unholy men put their unholy hands upon my unholy head, unless the Spirit of God is in it.  However, if the hands and the head are seeking the will, and empowerment, and grace of God, it can be a most precious symbol.  Whether you’ve had a smudge upon your forehead or not is frankly irrelevant to me, but if the Spirit of God is involved, it is a precious and powerful symbol.  With or without the symbol, may God hear our prayers of repentance, may the Holy Spirit indwell our souls, direct our paths, and instill the peace of Jesus throughout our lives.

Whether you give up something or not is irrelevant to me too.  Sometimes I laugh at symbolism; other times I worry that participants are most concerned with the shallow symbols.  It’s good for us to learn what the symbols mean, and appreciate the beauty of the substance beneath.  I challenge you to metaphorically clothe yourself in ash, bending to a posture of repentance, understanding and appreciating your own lowliness and unholiness.  I challenge you to repent.  I challenge you to seek the face of God, crying out to Him, preparing your heart, and waiting, waiting for Him to show up.  As we wait, let’s remember that the Lord’s Day is coming!

Savior, when in tears and dust, low we bow to you in trust;
when repentant, to the skies, scarce we lift our weeping eyes,
mindful how you suffered pain, that God’s love in us might reign;
help us claim what we would be; hear our solemn litany.
--A.J.