This week, Catholics along with Christians of many other denominations will mark Wednesday as Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent is the 40-day season (if Sundays are excluded) leading up to Easter. Lent is a season of prayer, fasting, and repentance.
The General Church has not usually observed Lent in a formal way, and the Writings for the New Church do not mention Lent. Still, the spirit of Lent is one that New Church people affirm: it’s a time set aside to reflect on the ways we have turned away from the Lord and to recommit to following Him. For several years, Bryn Athyn Church has provided a simple two-page leaflet on preparing for Easter at brynathynchurch.org/lent. It lays out practical steps you can take to prepare for Easter, as well as passages from the Writings on repentance.
So, why 40 days of preparation? The 40 days of Lent echo the 40 days the Lord spent in the wilderness praying and being tempted, as well as the 40 days and nights that waters flooded the earth in the story of Noah, the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai without eating, and several other instances of “forty” that are associated with times of struggle and testing. The Writings tell us that the number 40 signifies temptation. Temptation here does not mean a strong desire to do something forbidden; temptation in the Word means testing, and spiritual temptations are times of testing, struggle, and battle.
It’s important to note that we are not called to seek out temptation. We pray in the Lord’s prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” There is no value in trying to make ourselves miserable. But when we go through the process of repentance, temptation will occur whether we like it or not, because the evil spirits with us do not want us to be freed from their control. Temptation involves resisting the call to indulge in evils, but also resisting the lies that hell pours in - that we can never change, that there is no hope for us.
This is where it can be particularly valuable to remember the Lord’s own temptations. Lent is not just about focusing on ourselves - it is about looking at ourselves so that we can better love the Lord and love others. And it is about looking to the Lord as the one who can lift us out of temptation. The Writings tell us that the Lord underwent temptations far worse than anything we can imagine. Every time He overcame, He gained control over hell. And so when we pray to Him in our own temptations, when we reflect on what He has done, He can give us strength to overcome.