lenten blog | March 19, 2024

Lent is an unexpected rebirth

Throughout the year, the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ reproduces the Daily Lectionary for use by churches.  These are the suggested readings for March 19th:  Psalm 119:9-16; Isaiah 44:1-8; and Acts 2:14-24.  I would encourage you to read these short selections as part of your Lenten practice.

Lent is a word derived from the Old English word for Spring, which in turn is based on Spring’s lengthening days.  Maybe you can still hear Lent in lengthening.  Easter is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of Spring, Eostre.  When Israel was young and more primitive, its festivals were associated with nature.  The people depended on their harvests and they naturally turned to God at such times for benediction.  As generations passed, Israel overlaid the nature origins of their pilgrimage feasts with historical references.  It was no longer God acting through nature, but God acting through the history of Israel. 

Similar traditions are found in Christianity, such as the rebirth of the sun following the Winter solstice, which becomes Christmas, the birth of the Son of God.  And as mentioned above, there is Lent and Easter’s association with renewal and rebirth.  I would like to return to this in a moment, but first I mention Pentecost, which is the occasion of Peter’s speech in today’s passage from Acts of the Apostles. 

I won’t be writing these Lenten blogs on the 50th day after Easter, but today gives me an opportunity to share Pentecost’s amazing layering of stories.  It begins as a joyous celebration before Yahweh upon the harvest of the first fruits of Spring.  Eventually, in Jewish tradition, Pentecost became associated with the giving of the Law to Moses on Sinai.  This is the historical overlay of the nature festival.  Since the early followers of Jesus continued to share in the Jewish traditions that He and many of them were born into, they also celebrated Pentecost.  Their translation of this feast day was to adapt the historical rendering of Pentecost as based on the foundational event of the giving of the Law, and Christianize it by making it the foundational event of the giving of the Spirit (as we have talked about previously).

While I find this truly interesting, and probably the origin of the tradition that the Spirit was shared on Pentecost in particular, I also find meaning in the primitive tradition of early Christian converts who saw not only Easter but Lent as well in terms of Spring.  It is not difficult to associate Easter’s resurrection with Spring.  I think every pastor has made that allusion in some way at some Easter.  But Lent, now that’s intriguing.

As the Christian story was told to people unfamiliar with the layers of stories that preceded it, as missionaries and their converts translated these accounts into language more familiar to them, they saw Lent as a part of Spring’s rebirth.  As this past Sunday’s Gospel mentioned, Jesus referred to His cross in terms that a seed is just a seed until it dies, falls into the ground and leads to a bountiful harvest.  Not only the empty tomb, but the cross is an act of rebirth.  To convince peoples unfamiliar with the gospel-story of a crucified Saviour and God was to fundamentally alter their understanding of God and of God’s followers.  It would be in ministry and sacrifice that the new Christian life would be born. 

Still today, in a world in love with strength and the violence and dominance it allows, Lent’s message remains radical.  Lent’s message is the path to new life.  I for one do not feel safer because of the abundance of guns in our culture.  I do not feel safer because of the nuclear umbrella.  I do not feel safer when we often first look to arms rather than negotiation.  To me it seems clear that this model has failed us and may end up destroying us.  There truly is new life not only in Jesus’ promise of resurrection, but in Lent’s promise of living this life differently.
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If you’d like, here is the link to the Southern New England Conference’s daily reading schedule:  www.sneucc.org/lectionary.