“When Jesus returned from the Jordan River, the power of the Holy Spirit was with him, and the Spirit led him into the desert. For 40 days Jesus was tested by the devil, and during that time he went without eating. When it was all over, he was hungry.” – Luke 4:1-2 CEV
If you’ve hung around the church long enough, you’ve surely heard Lent described as the 40 days before Easter. Lent began on Ash Wednesday, February 18. If you count forward 40 days, you do not arrive on Easter Sunday. You come up 6 days short. What gives?
Going back to the early church, Christians committed to 40 days of fasting and prayer in preparation for Easter, because Jesus himself fasted for 40 days in preparation for his earthly ministry. Even today, Christians will fast (give something up) for Lent. It could be fasting from meat on Fridays (hence the Lenten Friday fish fry). It could be giving up chocolate or social media. Whatever it is, Christians usually start this discipline on Ash Wednesday and continue it right on through until Easter. But then that makes it a 46-day fast. Are we trying to outdo Jesus?
No. It’s because the Lenten fast doesn’t apply to Sundays. All Sundays are “little Easters” – days to celebrate the Resurrection – so we subtract the 6 Sundays in Lent from the Lenten fasting period. That leaves us with 40 days of fasting, just like Jesus. So the true Lenten math is: 46 – 6 = 40.
Of course, this is just a little church-year trivia. You can choose your own way to give something up for Lent. Or perhaps you want to add something, such as acts of kindness and mercy. And you can do them for as many days as you wish, even all 46 days if you want. The important thing is to use this time before Easter to grow closer to Jesus and to more closely follow him.
Have a blessed and holy Lent.
Pastor Mark