Under the umbrella of Christianity, there is nothing more meaningful than Easter and the 40 days preceding it, Lent.
When I think of Easter and the awesome resurrection of Christ, I never fail to ponder the importance of those 40 days leading up to it, which is a time to search one’s soul, reflect, take stock and, yes, repent.
Last month I wrote a column about a youth group from Grace Episcopal Church in Carthage who epitomizes the importance of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, these youngsters began a 40-day fast, which continues today and runs through April 3, the day before Easter. Their goal is to give up so much in their lives to raise money for people with so little left in theirs. In this case, it happens to be the people of Haiti in light of the horrendous earthquake that left their land devastated.
As I thought about the sacrifices these teens from Carthage are making, I realized that what they are doing is not just for a few days, or perhaps a week, but 40 days. Then I was reminded of the significance of this number 40 throughout the Bible.
Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai with God, as recorded in Exodus 24:18.
God made it rain for 40 days and 40 nights in the days of Noah (Genesis 7:4).
The Hebrew people wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, traveling to the promised land (Numbers 14:33).
Jonah, in his prophecy of judgment, gave the city of Nineveh 40 days in which to repent (Jonah 3:4).
Elijah walked 40 days and nights to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 9:18).
Goliath came out and challenged the Israelite army for 40 days before being killed by David (1 Samuel: 17:16).
Jesus retreated into the wilderness where he fasted for 40 days and was tempted by the devil (Matthew: 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2).
The traditional belief is that Jesus lay for 40 hours in the tomb, which led to the 40 hours of total fast that preceded the Easter celebration in the early church.
The 40 days of Lent, marked by fasting from both food and festivities, as well as other acts of penance, often include a time for people to give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God and give the time or money spent doing that to charitable causes.
Some have called Lent a season of grief that necessarily ends with the great celebration of Easter. In fact, those from the Eastern Orthodox world have labeled it the season of “Bright Sadness.”
This 40-day period of fasting skips Sundays, which commemorate the resurrection.
Coming next in the current Lent observance will be Palm Sunday (March 28), Passover (March 30) and Good Friday (April 2).
Address correspondence to Rich Brown, c/o The Joplin Globe, P.O. Box 7, Joplin, MO 64802 or email rbrown@joplinglobe.com.
