Do we give up stuff for Lent?
Lent began as a period of preparation for baptism. In the early centuries, adults who felt drawn to the Christian church were welcomed into something like an apprenticeship during which they were mentored in Christian belief, worship, prayer, and practices. The final weeks led directly to baptism, which was celebrated at Easter, the great day of resurrection. Part of the preparation for baptism included the discipline of fasting—for example, doing without meat or abstaining from food for one or more meals. In an act of solidarity, those who were already church members joined those who were fasting. This is probably the origin of the custom of giving up something for Lent. The point was to enter voluntarily into a spiritual exercise intended to deepen one’s prayer life and heighten anticipation of the great festival of the resurrection. If “giving up stuff” raises spiritual consciousness and serves as an aid to prayer, to meditation on dying and rising with Christ, and to reclaiming one’s baptism, go for it! Fasting, undertaking some other spiritual discipline, or giving up something are simply means toward the end of deepening the spiritual life. If it’s just a pain, makes one feel like a martyr, or contributes to a sense of spiritual superiority—then it’s better not to do it.

What is Ash Wednesday? Is it really Presbyterian?
Although Ash Wednesday has not been very important for many Presbyterians until recent decades, it’s as “Presbyterian” as repentance, confession, and pardon. Presbyterians and others have begun to recover Ash Wednesday in recent years, discovering in it powerful symbols that have helped to lead us into the spiritual disciplines of Lent. Traditionally the palms that we waved on Palm Sunday are burned to ashes and brought out for use on Ash Wednesday. On that day, a minister, elder, or other marks our foreheads with a cross-shaped sign, saying, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return,” from Gen. 3:19. The ashes remind us of our mortality, the brevity of life, and our need for confession and pardon. At the same time, because the sign on our foreheads is cross-shaped, it’s meant to remind us of our baptism. We who have died to Christ will be raised with him. So the ultimate point of Ash Wednesday is to face up to some hard realities, buoyed by our confident hope in the One who raised Jesus from the dead and who will have the last word over our lives, too.

What do I do on Holy Saturday?
The early church had only one annual celebration, which was called “Pascha,” drawn from the Hebrew Passover. It was sort of Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter all in one, and it was most likely celebrated on the night and morning of what became Easter day. When those days became separated, the major service of Easter continued to begin in the dark of Saturday night and reach its climax on Easter morning. This service of darkness/light, readings, baptism, and Eucharist has been recovered in recent years in many churches. We call it the Easter Vigil.

Contributed by Ron Byars