Lent, which began this last Ash Wednesday, is a 40-day period from Ash Wednesday through the Saturday before Easter.  Lent excludes Sundays because the focus of every Sunday is the resurrection of Jesus and the hope it brings.

The word Lent comes from a word meaning the lengthening of days.  40 is an important number because of its huge biblical significance.  40 was the number of years the people wandered around the desert after leaving Egypt.

40 days was the length of the rain during the great flood.  40 was the number of days Jonah told the people of Nineveh they had left before God would destroy everything.  And of course, 40 is the number of days Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil.

The season of Lent offers each of us the opportunity to pay attention to some of the central themes of Lent, which include the following.

Mortality.  We are all temporal flesh and blood.  Our mortality invites us not only to approach life and others with humility, but with an utter dependence upon God who gave us life to begin with.  Such dependence reminds us we are never alone and we are filled with God’s presence regardless of our awareness or strength of our faith.

Justice.  Justice is a fundamental biblical theme and the need for justice continues from generation to generation.  Our world is broken.  Relationships are broken.  Suffering abounds and as followers of Jesus we are to seek restoration of what is right and reconciliation wherever we find ourselves.

Repentance.  Lent is a season of repentance and repentance simply means to turn around or turn back to putting God at the center of our lives.  Repentance is freeing precisely because we can let go of trying to control everything and turn our lives and challenges over to God.

Salvation.  Indeed, we each need a Savior, a Savior who will save us from ourselves and our perishable nature.  Christ is the doorway to life beyond this one.

Forgiveness.  The season of Lent culminates with Jesus dying on the cross.  One of the most liberating truths is that through Christ we are forgiven and therefore we can not only release our own guilt, but are free to forgive others and the healing it brings to all.

My prayer for all of us in the weeks ahead is that we will intentionally take time to sit with God and turn all that is within over to God.  And my greatest hope is that God’s love will fill each of us so that we will approach each day with hope, joy, service, and the knowledge that indeed, when it is all said and done, all will be well.