Lent Has Answers!

Q: What is lent?

A: Lent is a 40-day season of the church year that runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Week. Lent's Bible readings, hymns and worship focus on the ministry, suffering and death of Jesus Christ,

Q: Why do we need Lent?

A: As the Bible says, " All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3: 23. Our sins have cut us off from God, and each one of us deserves only God's anger, punishment and eternal damnation. But the season of lent recalls for us how God in his mercy sent his sinless Son, Jesus, to take our sins upon himself and receive sin's punishment by dying on the cross for us, so that we might be forgiven and granted life in heaven forever with him.

Q: What does the " Ash" in Ash Wednesday mean?

A: Parishioners often receive a cross of ashes on the forehead on the first day of Lent and are reminded, "You are dust and to dust you shall return" Genesis 3: 19. The imposition of Ashes is often associated in the Bible with the sorrow over sin ( Job 42:6 , Daniel 9:3)

Q: Why does Lent last 40 days?

A: The Bible says Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness preparing for his formal ministry ( see Mark 1: 13). So Lent's 40 days ( not counting Sundays) signify that this is a period of preparation, a time when we ready our hearts to remember Jesus' suffering and death for our salvation.

Q: Why does Lent begin at different times each year?

A: Lent precedes Easter. Easter, a date which changes from year to year, is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. This is done to parallel the Jewish lunar calendar and its observance of the Passover.

Q: What is Passover?

A: Passover is a holiday on the Jewish calendar, traditionally lasting 8 days, commemorating the exodus of the Israelite slaves from Egypt after the angel of death "passed over" their homes , the doorposts of which were covered in the blood of a lamb. In Lent we celebrate freedom from sin's slavery and death's power through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.