This one’s for all you grammar nerds out there. Those of you who astutely study the bulletin every Sunday (which is pretty much everyone, right?) will no doubt have noticed that we refer to the Sundays that occur during Lent using the preposition “in” – ex. The First Sunday in Lent. As opposed to when we say The First Sunday of Advent. And let’s not even get into the seemingly endless number of Sundays in the Season after Pentecost. At first glance, this might not seem like that big of a deal, but it actually gives us insight some important theology related to the Lenten season.
The season of Lent is 40 days long – an homage to the 40 days and 40 nights that Jesus spent fasting and being tempted in the wilderness at the beginning of this ministry. In that same spirit, Lent has become a season of reflection, fasting, penance, a time to repent and hopefully grow into closer relationship with God. It’s a season that is intentionally solemn and somber, where we prepare our hearts and minds for the events of Holy Week. And yet, at the same time, we also teach that every Sunday throughout the entire year is a reminder of the joy and hope of the resurrection – every Sunday is like a mini-Easter. Which is why the powers that be decided long ago not to count the Sundays as being part of that 40-day total.
That being said, we do make some changes to how we do things on those Sundays in Lent. We refrain from saying the word “Alleluia” so that it is that much more powerful and “new” sounding when we boldly proclaim it on Easter morning. Some congregations go through the act of “burying” their Alleluias every year (either figuratively or literally). Many congregations will also abstain from having baptisms, in part, because of the language about death and resurrection. Bethlehem isn’t one of those congregations though, and just by happenstance, this year we have a baptism scheduled for 4 of the 5 Sundays in Lent, including my son Zachary’s which will be on March 23rd.
So, you might be asking yourself what’s the point of all this prepositional pondering? Well, I take great comfort in the fact that we retain the celebratory nature of Sunday in the midst of the solemnity of Lent. It’s a reminder that joy and light can always be found, even in the darkest of times, and that the light of Christ can never be snuffed out, regardless of what the church calendar might say.
Blessings on the journey this Lenten season,
Pastor Sam