Lent
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Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
-the Collect for the first Sunday of Lent
Do you know how the date for Easter is determined? It is on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Sometimes people are surprised to discover that the most high holiday of the Christian year is so closely linked to the natural patterns of the earth, moon and stars.
And since it is a ‘movable feast,’ some years, like this one, it is much earlier than we expect. Easter falls on March 31 this year. It feels really early when Easter is not in April, but March 31 is not the earliest it can possibly be. Fun fact found online: In 1818 the Paschal Full Moon fell on Saturday, March 21, which was also the spring equinox. Therefore, the following day, March 22 was Easter. It will not fall as early again until 2285, a span of 467 years. The next earliest Easter, March 23, has recently occurred in 1845, 1856, 1913, and 2008. So March 31 is not the earliest Easter can be, but it’s still pretty early.
And as a result, the season of Epiphany is shortened to accommodate the full season of Lent before Holy Week arrives. Epiphany can be as short as only 4 Sundays, or as many as 9. This year, Epiphany contained 6 Sundays, but since the first one fell so close to Epiphany itself, the very next day, it made Epiphany seem even shorter than it was.
All this is to say that if you feel like Lent has totally snuck up on you, you are not alone. Ash Wednesday is this week, which marks the beginning of Lent. Hope to see you at 7 that night for our Ash Wednesday service, or out on the lawn at 8am for Ashes Outside.
And then on Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent, we’ll hear about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness, which encourages us to take some extra time, as he did, to look inward during this penitent season. It’s a season to do a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves and to release some of the damaging patterns in our lives in order to make more room in us for God to enter. It’s a season to repent (which means, “turn”) away from the things that draw us from God and toward the things that draw us closer to God.
In short, Lent is a time to recognize and admit our weaknesses and remember that God is the only one who is mighty enough to save us.
I hope you are planning to take on some Lenten practices for the coming weeks. Many resources can be found on the Lent page of this website if you need some good suggestions. And I look forward to seeing you as we pray the Great Litany this Sunday, our tradition for the first Sunday of Lent each year.
