Some church historians believe that the season we know as Lent developed from two practices in the early church. The first practice involved the teaching of the catechumens, those persons who wanted to convert to Christianity. The early church was very serious about informing these catechumens about the faith. The stakes were very high at that time since the persecution of the church by the Roman Empire could mean death for any who professed Jesus as Lord. Neither the church nor the catechumens took lightly this decision.
The teaching period lasted THREE YEARS during which the catechumens learned the Bible, the teachings of Jesus, the principles of the Christian faith, and the wisdom of the influential church leaders. At the conclusion of this preparation, those catechumens willing to enter the faith offered themselves for baptism on Easter morning. The weeks prior to Easter were used for a special time of soul-searching in preparation for an event which would bind the catechumens forever to Jesus. In the Didache, the instruction manual of the early church, we are told that if any of the catechumens suffered death at the hands of Roman persecutors before their baptism, they should be understood as having experienced their baptism in their martyr’s death. As you can appreciate, embracing the Christian faith during this time was not a casual commitment.
The second practice involved reinstating those within the Christian faith who, because of their fear of persecution, had committed apostasy (abandoning the faith). Many committed apostasy under the duress of torture and the threat of death. To escape persecution Christians were required only to denounce Christ and offer incense in worship to a statue of the Roman emperor. After committing apostasy some sincerely regretted their error and desired to become once again a part of the church and renew their devotion to Christ. The time before Easter was used as a time of penitence for these Christians to repent of their sin, consider afresh their commitment to Christ, and prepare for their reinstatement on Easter Sunday.
Our observation of Lent apparently evolved from these two practices in the early church. Perhaps we could learn from this distant past. Like the catechumens, we could use this period to learn afresh the foundations of our faith. In the modern church we take too lightly our responsibility to be students of the Scriptures and followers of Jesus. Imagine how dynamic the church would be if we all took three years to understand this faith to which we are committing our lives! (Three years is about the amount of time students spend at seminary preparing for ministry.) The least we can do is to take the forty days of Lent as a time of reflection and study.
And who among us has not in one way or another committed apostasy? In our violent, greedy, scapegoating, and rat-race world, temptations bombard us daily to turn our backs on Christ as we worship money, success, security, pleasure, power, and self. Lent is not a time for pity parties or unhealthy guilt. It’s a time to prepare ourselves for the new creation possible at Easter. And such preparation must include our honesty before God.
