This Wednesday, February
17th, will be Ash Wednesday, the celebration of the first day of Lent. Lent consists of 40 days excluding Sundays. Sundays
are excluded from Lent, as each Sunday is considered a weekly celebration of the resurrection—a “little Easter”.
Therefore, lent is 40 weekdays plus 6 Sundays.
But, why the number 40? In
the Bible, the number 40 symbolized the fullness of time. That is, the period of time that was sufficient to accomplish what
needed to take place. For example, rain fell in Noah’s time for 40 days. Moses and Elijah dwelled in Horeb for 40 days.
For 40 years, Israel
wandered in the wilderness prior to entering the Promised Land. Eli was a Judge over Israel
for 40 years; and Saul, David, and Solomon each reined as the King for 40 years. Jesus endured temptation in the wilderness
for 40 days, and the Acts of the Apostles states that Jesus was physically with his disciples for 40 days following the resurrection.
In the early church converts to the Christian faith undertook
a 40-day period of intense preparation prior to being baptized, and being able to receive communion. Therefore, when the church
began recognizing that there was needed a time of repentance and preparation prior to the Easter celebration—the church
eventually settled on the number 40 as an appropriate amount of time.
May this 40-day celebration of Lent be for you a special
time in your personal Easter preparation. And, during this Lent may you grow
closer to Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.
