Lent: Repentance, Fasting, and Ashes?
by Jonathan Haefs
Today, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of Lent…a 40 day season. If you’re thinking the math doesn’t work…don’t forget that Sundays don’t count. They’re treated like mini-Easter celebrations.
I grew up without even hearing the word “Lent.” As a matter of fact, when I first heard it I thought someone was talking about “lint.” Imagine my confusion. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Lent and find yourself wondering what all this talk of repentance, fasting and ashes is about…what does it all mean?
Lent
Lent is meant to be a season that prepares our hearts for the celebration of Easter, much like Advent prepares us for Christmas. Traditionally, such preparation has been sought through focusing on repentance and fasting, which often makes people think Lent is a sad or depressing season…and nothing could be further from the truth!
Repentance and fasting should lead us to JOY in Jesus! Lent should to lead us to the joy of Easter! But, how exactly does that work?
Repentance
Repentance reminds us that we are sinful and in need of a Savior. Without a Savior, we would be left under the just penalty of sin…which is death. We need someone to defeat our sin by dying in our place…and…we need that person to defeat death by rising again. In other words, we need Jesus…we need Easter.
Focusing on repentance reminds us that we need Easter.
Fasting
To many, fasting seems like and outdated ascetic practice reserved for medieval monasteries. How does fasting engage our hearts and reveal our need for Easter?
Fasting, typically, involves removing something that is normally present in your life. Most commonly it is food, but people also fast from social media, television…nearly anything…but the point is we remove something that leaves a void. You notice that it is gone, and yet, life goes on without it. Our life didn’t depend upon that thing after all.
Fasting reminds us that we are not truly dependent on the things we think we are and helps us realize that we are dependent on Jesus! As our body hungers for food to satisfy our stomach, we are reminded that the only thing that can truly satisfy our deepest hunger, the hunger of our souls, is Christ! He is the one we need…the one who died and rose again to quench the thirst of our hearts and satisfy the hunger of our spirit with himself!
Fasting reminds us that we need Jesus…we need Easter!
And so, after focusing on repentance and fasting for 40 days, by the time Easter gets here, we erupt in celebration that Jesus has conquered our sin and become the satisfaction of our souls!
Ash Wednesday
So…repentance and fasting are meant to point us toward our need for Easter…but, what is up with the ashes? How does Ash Wednesday help us start this journey towards the joy of the empty tomb?
Ashes are symbol of repentance. At SVCC, when I put ashes on people’s foreheads I speak the words, “From dust you came and to dust you shall return.”
These words and the ashes remind us that the penalty of sin is death…that we must return to dust. We need to repent and turn from our sin to our Savior. And, that is why I do not only speak the words, “From dust you came to dust you shall return…” but that phrase is followed by the instruction, “So repent…and believe the Gospel.”
The Ashes remind us of our sin and it’s penalty, death…but, using them to make the sign of the cross reminds us that we have a Savior to turn to who has defeated sin and death! We use dust, the sign of our deserved death, to make a cross, the sign our death is defeated. It is a beautiful picture of the Gospel. It is a beautiful reminder that repentance is meant to lead us to the cross…to Jesus…to joy in him.
Now there is nothing magical about the ashes. They are a symbol of what is actually taking place in our hearts, namely, that we are acknowledging our sinfulness, repenting, and turning to trust in Jesus.
Without a heart of repentance and faith ashes merely give you a dirty forehead. Yet, when united with a heart of repentance and faith, this external symbol is a powerful means through which God reaffirms what has happened to you… that your death and doom to dust has been conquered by Christ!
This Lent, embrace that truth by faith. Let all your repentance, fasting and ashes lead you to the same place…to the empty tomb where we embrace the resurrected Jesus by faith!
Let Lent lead you to Easter!
The Joy of Glory 
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]
Our child is four. Although I don’t want to bluntly say the “Easter Bunny” isn’t real, I am trying not to encourage the belief. I discuss Lent being a time to repent, loosely relating it to saying your sorry. I’ve also been reiterating the relationship(s) of spring, renewal, and repentance. My first question is do you have other suggestions on discussing this topic with a young child. Secondly, how would you discuss the crucifixion and resurrection with a young child?
Hey Mama Penguin,
As far as discussing Lent with small kiddos…I focus more on meaning of the season with my kiddos than technical details. In other words, we don’t real talk a whole lot about “lent” at our house…we talk mostly about repentance. As they get older, I will explain more about the season and it’s history and why we set aside time for this specific focus.
When it comes to discussing repentance with my kids…I try to describe it not only as saying “I’m sorry,” but agreeing with what God says about our sin. When my kids get in trouble, I don’t want them to just apologize, but to understand why what they did was wrong. So I ask them, “Do you understand why it is wrong to hit your sister?” (Just an example…perhaps from reality). I will explain why and then ask them if they agree that it is wrong. Then move from agreement to saying they’re sorry and asking for forgiveness. In this way, I explain to them that repentance is agreeing with what God says about our sin. It is not just saying we’re sorry, but that we’re wrong and he is right and we want to follow him and not ourselves.
Concerning the crucifixion and resurrection…I suggest simply reading good kids resources to them. I highly recommend “The Big Picture Bible” for younger kids (click here). I would read the story of the crucifixion/resurrection from a resource such as this and allow my kids to ask questions. I’d answer them as best I could. Kids will typically set their own pace for how much they want to know. I don’t think you have to explain all the intricate details (or the gory ones) of Jesus’ crucifixion to a young child…I think you want to aim for the big picture. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. The way I’ve tried to unpack that sentence for my own kids is by explaining what it would be like if one of them got in trouble and was going to be punished, but I took their punishment for them instead. I explain that, in a much greater way, Jesus did that for us. He took our punishment.
It is ok if your kids ask questions to which you do not know the answers (mine do all the time). You can tell them, “I don’t know, but I’ll try to find out” or…if the question has an answer that you don’t think they’re ready for…simply tell them to ask you later. If it was a passing thought, they will probably forget…if it is something they really want to know, they will bring it up again later and you can decide then how to address it because it has obviously really been on their mind.
I don’t know if any of this is helpful. Please feel free to ask again if I have not answered your question adequately. Just know that the Holy Spirit is at work as you try to point your kids to Jesus. He does an infinitely better job than any of us. And, as a parent, that brings me great comfort!
Grace be with you,
Jonathan
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]
[…] and fasting that prepares our hearts for the coming celebration of Easter (fuller explanation here). Repentance is a reminder that we need to be saved from our sin…we need a Savior. Fasting […]