At the heart of Lent is the large story of God, who, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, has forgiven our sins and given us life, writes Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ. Source: Melbourne Catholic.
If we are asked what Lent means, we may answer by outlining our beliefs. Lent, for example, reminds us that we are sinners and strengthens our belief that Jesus died to save us from our sins.
This is true, of course, but a more powerful response might be to tell stories. That is also true of answering other deep questions. If we are asked about our family relationships, for example, telling stories about childhood illnesses, the death of a parent, moving house and depression may be more informative than answering abstractly.
That is true also of Lent. The power of this story led Christians to dedicate a special feast to celebrate Jesus’ dying and rising. This story was surrounded by layers of other stories that were embedded in prayer and other Christian practices.
These practices included fasting, a regular part of Jewish and later of Christian religious observance. Fasting indicated seriousness. It was associated with acknowledging sin and with communal renewal of faith.
The fast was then surrounded by other stories relevant to Jesus’s death. They included the story of God freeing the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt, which was celebrated in the feast of the Passover. The link to the Passover was central in Jesus’s own faith and to the Gospel story of Jesus’ death.
The length of the 40-day Lent fast was also shaped by stories. The people of Israel spent 40 years in the desert before entering the promised land. Jesus spent 40 days fasting and praying in the desert before beginning his public ministry. Shaped by these stories, the Lent fast was lengthened from five weeks to 40 days.
The large story of Lent is of God’s journey with humanity through creation and through calling the people of Israel to be his own. It focuses on Jesus’s journey with us on earth and particularly on his final journey to eat with his disciples, to the humiliation of arrest, torture and death, and to rising from the dead.
The lesser story of Lent is of our own entry, through Christ, into God’s journey with us. In our Lenten journey, we ask ourselves what matters to us. Ideally, we reply by describing our story of growing in love.
FULL STORY
The large story of Lent (By Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ, Melbourne Catholic)
