Ash Wednesday is approaching quickly, then we will be in the season of Lent.  Have you put much thought into this time of reflection?  Have you done any soul searching?  What about living the next 40 days in self-less love?  Do you know who Christ is?  Do you know why you are a Christian and what it means to live a Christian life?  These are a few of the questions we ought to be reflecting on.  Truth be told, it is what we should be doing on a regular basis, but do we?  Lent is a purposeful time for that and we begin its season on February 25 with the Ash Wednesday Service.

At UMC.org you can find a lot of resources about Lent and Easter.  I have included here, from the website,  some frequent questions and answers about the season.  For more please visit the website.

What does the United Methodist Church say about fasting?

• Fasting has been a part of Methodism from it’s early beginnings. John Wesley considered fasting an important part of a Christian’s life and he personally fasted weekly. To Wesley, fasting was an important way to express sorrow for sin and penitence for overindulgence in eating and drinking. He believed it benefited prayer life by allowing more time for prayer. He also felt fasting was more meaningful if combined with giving to the poor. Wesley did advise caution against extreme fasting and against fasting for those in fragile health. Visit John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life for more on John Wesley and fasting.The penitential season of Lent is a season of the Church year which commemorates the forty days Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. Although fasting usually refers to any practice of restricting food, there is a distinction, in the Church, between fasting (limiting food to one full meal a day, with two smaller meals allowed) and abstinence (abstaining from eating meat.) Abstinence from meat one day a week is a universal act of penitence. Visit the Upper Room’s Ask Julian Web site for more information. It is important that you check with your physician before attempting a total fast (no food, water only) for more than 24 hrs.Lent is a very personal time for individuals, so the United Methodist Church does not have official guidelines on how individuals should observe Lent.  For example, the church does not say everyone has to fast.  We may choose other ways of observing acts of penance, but we are not to neglect it, either – the value of self-denial can be learned early in a person’s life. Lent provides an excellent opportunity to teach children the necessity of self-denial in our permissive society. A spirit of fasting can include restriction of luxuries such as television watching, shopping and going out with friends. We can give away clothing or possessions to those in need or we can give time to the Lord by volunteering our services or special prayers and devotions. Whenever possible we can pray more often alone or with family members. The article “Connecting Worship and Daily Living in Lent” by Rev. Dan Benedict offers many suggestions for personal Lenten practices.

What is a Tenebrae Service?

• The word “tenebrae” comes from the Latin meaning “darkness.” In this dramatic service on Good Friday, all of the lights and candles on the altar are gradually extinguished until the room is in complete darkness. At the moment of darkness, a loud noise occurs symbolizing the death of Jesus.

What is Lent and why does it last forty days?

• Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection.  In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism.  Today, Christians focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or volunteering and giving of themselves for others.  The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan. Sundays in Lent are not counted in the forty days because each Sunday represents a “mini-Easter” celebration of the Jesus’ victory over sin and death.

What is Maundy Thursday?

• Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday, is a service to commemorate Jesus’ Last Supper and the beginning of our sacrament, the Lord’s Supper. The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, which means “commandment.” At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34). Prior to breaking the bread with the disciples, Jesus washed their feet. Maundy Thursday worship services include Holy Communion and sometimes foot washing as well.

What is the significance of ashes being placed on the forehead on Ash Wednesday?

• Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. It is a day of penitence and remembrance of our sins of the past and our ultimate mortality. Palm branches are usually burned and the sign of the cross is placed on the forehead using the ashes. Sometimes a small card or piece of paper is distributed on which each person writes a sin he wishes to be rid of. The cards are then brought to the altar to be burned along with the palm branches. The ash cross is an outward sign of our sorrow and repentance for sins. Visit the Upper Room’s Ask Julian web site for more information.

When did United Methodists start the “imposition of ashes” on Ash Wednesday?

• While many think of actions such as the imposition of ashes, signing with the cross, footwashing, and the use of incense as something that only Roman Catholics or high church Episcopalians do, there has been a move among Protestant churches, including United Methodists to recover these more multisensory ways of worship. This is in keeping with a growing recognition that people have multiple ways of learning and praying. Worship that is oriented to the intellect or to the emotions, both interior, leaves out those who engage in prayer through vision, smell, touch, movement, etc. We are increasingly aware that people are formed in faith when practices become embedded in memory, nerves, muscles and bone through sensory engagment.  United Methodists have had resources for worship that include the imposition of ashes since 1979 when Ashes to Fire was published as Supplemental Worship Resource 8. This practice became part of our official worship resources in 1992 when General Conference adopted The United Methodist Book of Worship (UMBOW). See the service for Ash Wednesday, p. 321-324.  It is, of course, optional and no congregation or individual is required to use it.
• • Other such practices were adopted in 1992. See The United Methodist Book of Worship for:
  • footwashing for Holy Thursday, p. 351-354
  • meditation at the cross for Good Friday, p. 363-364
  • incense for Evening Praise and Prayer, p. 574

Tags: Ash Wednesday, ashes, Easter, fasting, Lent, love, Maundy Thursday, penitence, Prayer, sin, sorrow, tenebrae, Wesley

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 3:25 pm and is filed under Special Services. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.