Season of Lent

[Rev. Thomas Kurien]

Isaiah 58:5-8

Lent means “Looking into Jesus”. The season of Lent is 50 days long to indicate the 40 days Jesus spent in prayer and the Passion Week. What is fasting in our lives? Is it bound with the Bible or is it just abstinence from food?

What is expected from us during Lent?

1. Time of repentance – Are we able to change the world around us with inner healing? Physically and externally we may seem good to others, but are we healed internally?
2. Time of reconciliation – We enter the Holy Qurbana with the Kiss of Peace. Mathew 5:23-24. You may be at peace with others, but if there is some one who is angry with you, it may be because of something about you. So you need to ensure that all is fine in your relationship with that person. If you love the God and hate your brother, then you are a thief or a cheat. Our prayers for healing are become a show-off of our faith. The Lord who does the healing is getting sidelined.
3. Time of renunciation – You let go of your favorite things and spend that time and energy in our Lord. By fasting, what good is happening? The money you save should go to the needy, instead of just your bank balance.
4. Time of renewal – Die with Christ and live with Christ. The things followed in church are a symbolic representation of things Christ did. If you don’t understand this meaning, everything will appear like a drama to you.