The 40 Days of Lent: Passing from the Desert of Desperation to the Divine Oasis
The Church is Preparing for the Feast of Feasts, Are we ready yet?
Few days and Christians will start a season that is considered one of the holiest Christian stations in history. It is the season of Holy Lent, the safe path towards the Feast of the Resurrection, the feast of feasts and the Holy Season. Hence, the Lent is a time of spiritual renewal and a journey during which Man passes from danger to safety, sin to salvation, and anxiety to contentment.
Christians prepare for their Lenten Journey following the path of Jesus Christ who was led, just after his baptism, by the Holy Spirit into the desert where he fasted for 40 days and defeated Satan. Jesus refused every temptation of the Devil and told him “It is written, ‘One must not live on bread alone, but on every word of God’” (Luke 4: 4), “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’” (Luke 4: 8).
As for us, we cannot deny that we are immersed in daily trials and temptations, lost in the midst of a world full of passing glories, hate speech, violence, hostility and discrimination... In a noisy world, how much does a person today need to be isolated in the desert! How often does the human need to hear the voice of God among the noise of voices surrounding him/ her?!
His Holiness Pope Francis said, " The desert is the place of the Word with a capital W. Indeed, in the Bible, the Lord loves to speak to us in the desert… In the desert one finds a renewed intimacy with God, the Lord’s love… Lent is a favorable time to make room for the Word of God.”
Striving Towards the Desert
It is worth mentioning that fasting is a divine law and the first commandment of God. Hence, Jesus Christ said, “…The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast” (Matthew 9: 15). Fasting also aims to repentance, self-reflection, and returning to God with humility, proclaiming, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
During Lent, we search for the face of God that we find in the desert, in order to reach the Heavenly Kingdom. We also strive spiritually and physically through the abstinence from food and drink, and self-restraint from desires, aiming at overcoming our instincts and all the temptations of the universe.
Therefore, fasting is not limited to abstaining from food only, but it is also important to avoid sin, purify the soul from all evils, and fill our hearts by humility, repentance and mercy in order to renew our relationship with God. Jesus Christ commanded us, “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1: 15).
Our fasting journey is also dedicated to prayer, works of mercy and charity. Hence, His Beatitude Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East John X said, “Lent is based on love, reinforced by almsgiving and completed with the leaven of purity and chastity. Fasting and almsgiving are inseparable. Fasting, mercy, almsgiving, purity and care for the neighbours and the needy are paths to the doorway to the Godly mercy and thus acquiring God as a friend.”
Lent in Churches
It is true that Christians are distributed into many Church families, but in fact all Churches call for prayer, repentance and fasting, each according to its own creed and traditions that characterize it.
For instance, the lent at the Maronite Church, as well as the Catholic, starts with the Ash Monday. It focuses on Easter and the Resurrection of Christ through meditating on Sundays’ Gospels during the period of Lent, especially the Gospels of the miracles. The Church also considers that the believer should abide in Jesus Christ, as He is the physician, the healer, the forgiver of sins, who resurrected the dead and defeated death, Satan, and sin.
The Orthodox Church focuses during the period of Lent on the joy and repentance, and considers that Lent is a Journey of the Kingdom that help us to be born again Christian. The Orthodox Church prepares for Lent and begins it through the Triodion Period, which is divided into three basic phases: the Pre-Lenten period, the Great Lent of forty days and the Holy Week.
The Syriac Orthodox Church, for example, also considers that fasting reminds the believers of the struggle of Jesus, who began His ministry by fasting 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness, so Christians may learn fasting and defeating the Devil through spiritual struggle. The Syriac Orthodox Church started the 40 days fast in the third century AD. In the second quarter of the fourth century, the Holy Week fast, which was already in the Church, was added to the 40 days Lent.
The Coptic Orthodox Church considers that fasting has two purposes: preparing for the joy of Resurrection of the Crucified Lord; and teaching the catechumens and helping them to worship through true repentance so that they may receive the sacrament of baptism on the night of Easter.
The Evangelical churches follow the Western calendar and focus on spiritual preparation, and meditation on the pain of Christ, His death and Resurrection. The Evangelical Churches generally encourages fasting at any time of the year and not only in the period preceding Easter as fasting and prayer accompany and help believers.
Eventually, many people consider fasting as deprivation and torture. But who live the period of Lent is in fact overwhelmed with great joy, and experiences the desert life which is closest to the Heavenly Kingdom.
We need today, more than ever, to live in a desert where we can seek the light of Jesus and hear in the silence the Word and voice of God. It is worth saying that the dispersion and crises we are witnessing may prevent us to walk towards this desert, but, in fact, it will never prevent us from reaching Jesus because we are called children of God. Resurrection completed our Salvation.
Communication and Public Relations Department