The Season of Lent
Lent 2024
Dates: Ash Wednesday (February 14, 2024) - Holy Saturday (March 30, 2024)
Color: Purple
Icon: Our Lenten seasonal icon prominently features an Ethiopian cross, designed by Atlas Minor.
A Portrait of the Season
“Knowledge inflates your sense of self, but love gives you real substance.
If someone imagines they know something, they don’t yet know what they should know,
but if someone loves God, they are known by God”
1 Cor. 8:2 (author’s translation)
Jesus was harshest with those who were sure of themselves. He constantly took the needle of truth and burst the balloon of their ego (see Mark 10:35–45, etc.). He did this because the inflation of self—pride—is a poisonous gas that slowly cuts off the soul from the oxygen of humility, love, and fear of the Lord, which is “clean” (Ps. 19:9). It is a mercy, then, to be deflated. It is a gift to be put in the posture of a learner instead of a teacher, a follower instead of a leader, and a listener instead of a speaker. The one who doesn’t have to know or control everything can truly breathe freely.
Lent begins where Jesus began: “Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Metanoia, the word in Greek that we translate as “repent,” can also be translated as “change your thinking,” as Sarah Ruden renders it in The Gospels: A New Translation. But “change your thinking” is a deflating word for those who are sure they are on the right path with the right knowledge. To them, and so to us, comes the word: “change,” “turn,” “reassess.” We often assume that Jesus eventually takes us away from the place of reassessing so that we can get on with the work already. Still, that path is rooted in pride and knowledge, not dependent humility. Jesus commands us to stand at curious attention to watch where he is going and to follow after him, just as he stood at curious attention for the will of the Father. “The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught,” Isaiah famously said about the Servant of the Lord (Isa. 50:4).
These forty days called Lent (“length”) have grounded generations of Christians in the deflating joy of God’s love since the early days of the church. What do I mean? Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, where we are urged to go ahead and cut to the chase: this body of ours is, well, mortal. We are needy, frail creatures on our way back to the dust we came from. That decay of the body mirrors the malady of the soul: We are broken people who sin against others with alarming regularity. We are people of “unclean lips who dwell among people of unclean lips” (Isa. 6:5). We are creatures so bad off that we require drastic measures of rescue, even resuscitation. That is how this season begins and ends. Each of us is free to resist that scalpel to the heart (Acts 2:37), but we resist as one who resists the gas mask in the burning house.
If, however, we accept the premise of this season, the premise of the gospel, then we are freed from an abyss of delusional pride or debilitating shame and are brought out into the open space of divine love, freed to love in return and offer our life back to the One who knows us and neighbors who need us. Released to begin again with Apprenticeship 101 and examine our lives with ego no longer clouding our vision, curiously attentive to what the Lord will do in us if we would but attend to the grace available each day. After all, Jesus did not begin only with “repent” but also with “believe.” And there is the clean joy of this season, from ashes to resurrection, love poured out on our behalf.
So now, in Lent, we “train ourselves” (Titus 2:12) so that we might traverse our own Gethsemanes and Golgothas with humble and holy love, seen and companioned by God all along the way. We rededicate ourselves to the places where our Lord has placed us with curious attention. We remember and celebrate those central parts of the Story that make us all “little Christs” in the first place: the Triduum, the “three days” (counted from sundown to sundown) of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday.
Lent is infused with grace and love, not opposed to it. Grace is a free gift to those who are in need. Lent is the season to know that need. It is a season to sense again the path of the Christian life and to recognize that an essential part of that journey is dying with Jesus.
Our prayer at Grace Mosaic is that our entire community would take the meaningful next steps into this journey with Jesus over these next 40 days.
-Written by Rev. Joel Littlepage and Ashley Williams. Adapting and updated from the introduction from the Lent 2024 Living Prayer Periodical of the Daily Prayer Project, a publication of Grace Mosaic.
Resources for the Season
Lent Living Prayer Periodical
The Daily Prayer Project is a publication ministry of Grace Mosaic that supplies a holistic resource for spiritual formation to thousands across North America and the globe. You can access the Lent Living Prayer Periodical outside the sanctuary on Sunday mornings, or here.
GMO Formation Materials
Practices for the Season
The Church has long used Lent as a time to intensify the regular practices of the faith: prayer, fasting, generosity, and repentant acts of love for others.
PRAYER. Use the season of Lent as a time to renew and reimagine rhythms of prayer in your life and in the life of your household. Consider establishing a steady rhythm of 20-30 minutes of prayer each morning and evening using the Daily Prayer Project.
Corporate Prayer during Lent: During Lent as in all seasons, we invite the whole community to join in daily prayer every morning and evening using the liturgies of the Daily Prayer Project.
We also encourage all to join our weekly midweek virtual prayer call at Noon on Wednesdays (link sent out over email) as well as for 4th Monday in-person/virtual evening prayer at 8 PM, led by Elder Evan Willet (link and physical location shared over email).
Practice Lectio Divina (or “Abiding”): Want to know more? Read our article “Abiding” to explore this time-testing way of praying with the word of God.
FASTING. Fasting, at its core, is the practice of abstaining from food for a period of time to devote oneself to feasting on God’s presence in prayer, coming to terms with the weakness and humility of our condition, and placing ourselves in solidarity with those who hunger and thirst in our world. In the Christian Year, we feast and then we fast, and then we feast again! The fast prepares us for the feast.
Corporate Fasting during Lent. During Lent, we invite the whole community to select a pattern of days/times/meals to fast throughout the week for the duration of Lent. Read our article “Fasting Before The Feast” to orient yourself to the practice and explore ways to implement it during this season.
ALMSGIVING. Give your money, food, possessions, and time away. Take the money that you would often spend on yourself and give it to the poor. Choose to deny yourself and find the freedom of simplicity. Read our article “People of the Gift” to explore this practice more deeply. The article was written for the Christmas season but almsgiving is a perennial discipline of Christian spirituality.
"WASHING FEET” Read John 13:1-20. Take on the form of a servant to meet the needs of your neighbors, church family, and household. Serve joyfully in the name of Christ while imitating him. Consider instituting consistent rhythms of service during this Lenten season.
ESTABLISH AND NURTURE RITUALS Keeping time through formative rituals and practices has always been at the life of the people of God. Consider establishing meaningful rituals and traditions in the life of your home. Start times of household worship using passages or prayers from the Daily Prayer Project, establish a day where you serve other people, plan annual outings, etc. Use your imagination.
“Lent is a time to chip away at the superficial, materialistic shell of our lives. Lent is the downward journey of identifying with Jesus in his poverty, suffering, humility, compassion, and sacrificial death just as we take the upward journey toward the victory of the resurrection and new life.”
Schedule for the Season
“Lent is infused with grace and love, not opposed to it. Grace is a free gift to those who are in need. Lent is the season to know that need. It is a season to sense again the path of the Christian life and to recognize that an essential part of that journey is dying with Jesus.”
Music For The Season
Other Sermons, Articles, and Videos
Read: Giving Up Shame For Lent by Chuck Degroat
“Lent is not a season of trying harder. Lent is a season of rest and return - a return to the goodness of the earth, the ground, that humble place out of which you might recover your heart and rediscover joy.”
Watch: Flemming Rutledge on ‘The Crucifixion’
Flemming Rutledge has written one of the most important books on the Crucifixion in modern times. If you are looking for a wonderful lecture to summarize that work, we recommend this one. It is full of passion, intellect, and Rutledge’s characteristic charm. The Cross is the Crux of the Christian faith. Listen and be in awe and wonder again at the passion of our Lord.
Read: The Origins of Lent by Rev. Dr. Tim Lecroy
Rev. Dr. Tim Lecroy, a doctor of Church History, discusses the historical origins of Lent and Ash Wednesday. If you are looking for a deeper explanation of the history and theology of the Lenten season, then dig into these resources!
Books
Lent by Essau McCaulley [Highly recommended new book!]
"Lent is inescapably about repenting." Every year, the church invites us into a season of repentance and fasting in preparation for Holy Week. It's an invitation to turn away from our sins and toward the mercy and grace of Christ.
Often, though, we experience the Lenten fast as either a mindless ritual or self-improvement program. In this short volume, priest and scholar Esau McCaulley introduces the season of Lent, showing us how its prayers and rituals point us not just to our own sinfulness but also beyond it to our merciful Savior.
Practicing The Way by John Mark Comer
“We are constantly being formed by the world around us. To be formed by Jesus will require us to become his apprentice.
To live by what the first Christian disciples called a Rule of Life—a set of practices and relational rhythms that slow us down and open up space in our daily lives for God to do what only God can do—transforms the deepest parts of us to become like him.
This introduction to spiritual formation is full of John Mark Comer’s trademark mix of theological substance and cultural insight as well as practical wisdom on developing your own Rule of Life.
These ancient practices have much to offer us. By learning to rearrange our days, we can follow the Way of Jesus. We can be with him. Become like him. And do as he did.”
Also, check out Comer’s Project of the same name here. We will begin to utilize this material in our own life of formation at Mosaic within the coming year.
The Crucifixion by Flemming Rutledge
“Though the apostle Paul boldly proclaimed “Christ crucified” as the heart of the gospel, Fleming Rutledge notes that preaching about the cross of Christ is remarkably neglected in most churches today. In this book Rutledge addresses the issues and controversies that have caused pastors to speak of the cross only in the most general, bland terms, precluding a full understanding and embrace of the gospel by their congregations.”
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter by Various Authors
A wonderful collection of literary and theological writings on the themes of the Lenten season.
Resources for Families with Young Children
The Apostles Creed: For All God’s Children by Ben Myers, Ill. Natasha Kennedy
Historically, Lent was a period where newcomers to the faith would be instructed through the use of the Apostles’ Creed. This is a great children’s book adaptation of the creed!
Illustrated Ministries Lent Material
Illustrated Ministries creates coloring and craft materials for children and families for use during each season of the Christian Year. The material is lovely and cross-culturally accessible.
Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss
“As she did in All Creation Waits, Gayle Boss along with illustrator David G. Klein invite the reader into the wild world of creation. Whether or not one observes the liturgical season of Lent, one cannot help but be touched and inspired by this work to take the stewardship of creation more seriously. As Boss says, "The promise of Lent is that something will be born of the ruin, something so astoundingly better than the present moment we cannot imagine it." Who among us does not want to live into that wild hope?”