26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threwthe Egyptians into the midst of the sea. 28 The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. 29 But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses -Exodus 14:26-31
Like I did with Epiphany, I thought that I would give a brief introduction to the season of Lent and talk about what to expect. Like last time as well, I am heavily indebted to my old professor, Dr. Timothy Maschke, who taught me about the Church Year and for his book, Gathered Guests: A Guide to Worship in the Lutheran Church, which helped to serve as the basis for this article. He helped to create a love in me for the seasons of the Church, and he opened my eyes to what they all pointed to: Jesus Christ.
Name and Origins: Since Easter celebrates the most important event in Christ’s life, His resurrection, the Church did a period of preparation for it. In the early Church, baptismal candidates would be baptized at the Easter Vigil. The period before when candidates would be taught became known as Lent, which comes from the Latin word “spring.”
Length: In the year 325, we have the first specific and recorded reference to the number of days for Lent, which is 40. This was recorded at the Council of Nicea. Later, these 40 days became associated with other events in Scripture that involved the number 40, events like Jesus’ 40 days in the desert before His temptation and the wandering of the Israelites in the desert for 40 years.
Themes: The season of Lent is a time of repentance and preparation for Easter. To help keep with the solemn nature of Lent, and to reflect the theme of repentance, alleluias (which are a word of praise) and the “Gloria in Excelsis” are not sung. However, that does not mean that the Gospel is not proclaimed, not preached for the season, or brushed aside. As Lutherans, we still emphasize the Gospel as much as ever during this penitential time. This point is brought out in how we talk about the Sundays in Lent. In Lent, Sundays are NOT “of Lent” but “in Lent.” As a result, our Sundays keep an Easter tone and can be less solemn than our midweek services.
Color: The color for the season of Lent is purple. This color depicts royalty and self-discipline. To make the color purple, the cloth would be dyed in the blood of a snail. Such a process was not only expensive, but also time consuming, and would require much self-sacrifice on the part of the maker in terms of time and attention. As a result, purple became the symbol of penitence. Purple also is an alternative color for Advent, which is also a time of preparation and repentance.
I hope this little article helped to shed some new light on Lent, and will aid your celebration of this season. Blessings to you as we begin the Lenten season! ~Pastor Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XX, Number 8, March 2019)