Quickie Thoughts About Lent

“And he said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophecy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” --Mark 7:6-8, ESV

 I have to go to bed soon, but I wanted to get this out there.  Obviously, according to the liturgical calendar, it's currently Lent.  I haven't really thought about it that much until recently.  I've always thought of it as suspicious, since it's really just a tradition of men, like many in the liturgical calendar.  

Now, I thought it originated in Catholicism, but it may have originated earlier.  (There is evidence that the 2nd century church was Catholic)  According to the Wikipedia article, one theory has Lent starting during the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, during the era of the "Early Church 'Fathers'".

Anyway, there was one quote that gave me serious alarm bells, and it was from Augustine of Hippo, when he said:

Our fast at any other time is voluntary, but during Lent, we sin if we do not fast.

Pardon the pun, but not so fast!  Where in Scripture is this true? (Proverbs 30:6)

Now, there’s nothing wrong with prayer (Matthew 6:5-15, I Thessalonains 5:17 for example), nor fasting (Matthew 6:16-18 for example), nor giving of alms (Matthew 6:1-4, Luke 12:33 for example). But why are you praying? Why are you fasting? Why are you giving alms? Matthew 6:1-18 gives instructions on how to properly do all three, alms, prayer, and fasting, respectively. We don’t do these things because religious tradition tell us to do it. We do it because Jesus tells us to do it.

Alms and prayers are to be done all the time, as Cornelius did in Acts 10:2. Fasting can be done for many purposes, such as, with a supplement of prayer, driving out demons (Matthew 17:21, Mark 9:29), or, during a time of a temporary mutual sexual break between a married couple (I Corinthians 7:5). Fasting can also be done for the sake of contrition, such as in Psalm 69:10. However, to fast in the name of Lent is damningly dangerous, because it is in the name of tradition (Mark 7:6-8, Colossians 2:8).

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” --Colossians 2:8, ESV

Wikipedia contributors. "Lent." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 Mar. 2025. Web. 25 Mar. 2025.