Spiritual journeying Thomas Baldwin

Thomas Baldwin traces the history of Lent and its place within the Church of Scotland.

LENT – the 40-day period of preparation between Ash Wednesday and Easter, traditionally marked by fasting and reflection – has been part of the Christian calendar since the very first days of the Church.

The earliest Christians established the tradition of fasting before Easter, and Lent is referred to by name in the 4th century writings of Athanasius of Alexandria and Saint Augustine of Hippo.

It commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation (as recorded in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke), which in itself echoes the periods in the wilderness of both Moses and Elijah.

In modern society, even among people who have no idea of the theological significance, Lent is still widely known as a period for abstinence, for giving up chocolate or alcohol, even if the motivation is more worldly than spiritual.

And yet, well into the second half of the 20th century, if you asked a Scottish Presbyterian about Lent, you might well have received a blank look in response. Likewise, a search through the pages of early Life and Work for any mention of Lent would be mostly fruitless.

This is a legacy of the Reformation, at which Lent was rejected as not based on scripture, and the resistance of subsequent attempts to reintroduce it to the Scottish liturgical year.

“ In modern society, even among people who have no idea of the theological significance, Lent is still widely known as a period for abstinence…

“In essence, the Reformation wants to quash anything that’s not biblically founded,” says Scott Spurlock, Professor of Scottish and Early Modern Christianities at the University of Glasgow. “So when the Reformers were looking at the Calendar, they can see a justification for marking Christ’s birth and Easter – although they will minimise the significance of those. They would have Communion once a year and Easter was the date for that. But Lent was seen as being an unnecessary invention.

“The first Book of Common Order (written by John Knox in 1556) has a calendar, which includes Lent. But there’s no emphasis on doing anything to recognise it. It’s just a historical understanding of the year. “In 1566, the Church of Scotland was asked to look at the Heidelberg Catechism, which recognises some of the traditional liturgy. But the Church pushed back. It asks ‘what is central to us?’ and the answer is the Sabbath. Other things are played down because of the historical significance they have for Catholicism.”

Further attempts to reintroduce traditional holy days were resisted during the disputes with King James VI over Church governance, which ultimately led to the foundation of the Scottish Episcopal Church. “The claims for an episcopal (ruled by bishops) form of church government include a liturgical traditional that’s richer in terms of its historical legacy, and that includes Lent,” says Scott. “But that just caused more pushback from Presbyterians.”

In fact, Lent (and other seasons including Holy Week) wasn’t widely observed among the Presbyterian churches for at least another 250 years, and the reforms of the later 19th century. Even then, it remained obscure outside of the Catholic community until comparatively recently.

“I had never heard of Lent until I became a minister,” says the Rev Roddy Hamilton, minister of New Kilpatrick Church in Bearsden, who writes a worship column for Life and Work and is one of the writers of the worship resource Spill the Beans.

“It’s still not huge, it’s not taken over. But it’s certainly a lot more popular and a lot more credible than it used to be in the Church of Scotland. Spill the Beans has resources for Lent, Ash Wednesday and Holy Week. It’s all part of our liturgy.

“And it’s positive ecumenically as well. You can share the experience of journeying towards Easter with other denominations.

The traditions are as ancient as the faith itself.”

Roddy says that Lent is a ‘perfect length of season’ for a period of spiritual journeying or reflection.

“Psychologists say it takes six weeks to change a habit, and Lent is exactly that length of time. It’s ideal for a journeying time or travelling through something.

“At my church we do quite a lot with art, with changing colours in the church. The colour of Lent is purple, which is quite a vivid colour, and we have changing shades of purple through the season. We also do different activities to help people focus on the biblical passage each week. And we invite people to create a space in their home, where there is the opportunity to lay things down.”

He adds that this is something the Church can offer to wider society. “With Christmas, and the approach to Christmas, people are bound up in the secular celebration. But with Lent and Easter it’s not such a secular thing, and we can be more religious.

“That’s a positive thing the church can offer secular society. People are so stressed, and anxious, and worried and afraid. We can invite them into this six-week space where they can reflect on this, and that can lead to a lot of conversations.

“We’re inviting people to just be reflective. It’s not a case of asking people to give something up, it’s a time to reflect, to consider the questions. To allow yourself to be more present in this season, to let go of things so you are a new person at Easter – unburdened and set free.”

Lent this year begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5. The Church of Scotland has worship resources at churchofscotland. org.uk/worship/weekly-worship. The latest issue of Spill the Beans, covering Lent, Easter and Pentecost, is available from www.spillthebeans.org.uk¤