Lent is typically a season of prayer, repentance, fasting and self-denial. It is a time often associated with the “giving up” of something so that we can turn away from whatever has distracted or derailed us from God. However, Lent has to be more than just a deprivation from our favorite foods, or shows, or our electronic devices. The rhythms of Lent encourage us not just to turn away from those things that deter us from God, but inspire us to pursue practices that turn our hearts towards God.

For the early church, Lent began as a preparation towards Easter. Lent provides an opportunity to imitate Jesus as He fasted in the desert for 40 days and then was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Lent is both a call into spiritual desert, as well as, a remembrance of our baptismal identity as Christ followers. These practices allow us to focus more intensely on the act of putting off the old self in order to put on Christ and receive the hope of grace that Easter promises.

Baptism and Lent have much more in common that we think. John Witvliet, in his column in Reformed Worship (March 2000), “In the early church, Lent was not an extended period for meditation on Christ's suffering. Instead, it was a time when candidates for (adult) baptism would engage in group study and prayer to prepare for their baptism on Easter. . . . to support these study and prayer sessions for learning the faith, Lenten worship became a time when the whole congregation committed itself to live up to the calling of baptism.”

The Church has always associated Easter with the celebration of baptism, this great mystery through which we, dead to sin, are saved to new life in Christ. The season of Lent is both for those entering a relationship with Christ, as well as, for the believer who is called to remember his/her baptismal identity and their continual need of God’s grace. All Lenten activity should move us toward this goal.