The Meaning of Forty: A Lenten Invitation
Dear Southport Congregational Church,
There’s a lot of symbolism in the bible. For example, any time scripture mentions water, it’s a safe bet there’s a connection to baptism. Any time scripture mentions fire, it’s a safe bet there’s a connection to the Holy Spirit. This symbolism isn’t limited to physical things; it also includes numbers. There are seven days of creation, seven churches listed in Revelation, and seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles, and Jacob even had twelve sons. Needless to say, biblical numbers are important.
During the season of Lent, the number that is prominently meaningful is 40. There are 40 days in the season of Lent (excluding Sundays) which coincide with the 40 years of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness and the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by the enemy. Wednesday February 18 marks the first day of Lent. So, 40 days from the 18th (excluding Sundays) we will be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday.
The first day of Lent is traditionally known as Ash Wednesday. According to The Worship Sourcebook, the aim of Ash Wednesday is threefold:
To meditate on our mortality, sinfulness, and need of a savior; to renew our commitment to daily repentance; and to remember with confidence and gratitude that Christ has conquered death and sin.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent and it does so by reminding us of our mortality and pointing us towards Jesus. It seems ironic because we live in a world that tries to hide our mortality and yet at the same time brutally reminds us of our mortality as well. Commercials attempt to sell us products to keep us young forever, yet national and global headlines remind us of death and pain constantly.
I remember feeling this irony in a painful way in the spring of 2015. I was serving as a resident chaplain at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Along with a few other chaplains, we stood in the atrium on the first floor of the hospital and offered ashes to anyone who desired them. As I gently marked the sign of the cross on individuals’ foreheads and said, “from dust you were created and to dust you shall return” the irony of the moment settled in. Nurses, doctors, therapists, visitors, parents and patients in a children’s hospital don’t need another reminder of their own mortality. They are working and sometimes living in a facility that reminds them of their own mortality every day. Ash Wednesday graciously reminds us that from dust we are created and to dust we shall return (Ecc. 3:20), but at the same time it points us to everlasting life in Christ.
This is all to say, how will you spend these 40 days? I hope you create some space in your life to reflect on your own mortality. I hope you take the time to humbly and graciously acknowledge mishaps or wrongdoings. I hope you anticipate the celebration of resurrection that will occur on Easter Sunday. And I hope you seek to embrace a life of righteousness and faithfulness with God.
Grace & Peace,
Rev. Dr. Mark Waterstone