Invisible Fasting

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:16-18).

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent; this is the 40 day period preceding Easter. It is a season of fasting and penitential reflection.[1] Just as we Christians have been instructed to prepare ourselves to receive our Risen Lord in the bread and wine of Holy Communion by self-examination and confession,[2] so on the macro-scale, does Christ’s Church prepare to receive Him on Easter in a similar way. The Church has recognized the benefit of such preparation since ancient times. Though the length of the season varied initially, the fast of Lent was, early on, set at 40 days. The analogy with the 40 day temptation of Our Lord in the wilderness, following His baptism by John, is evident.[3] Ash Wednesday has marked the beginning of the Lenten fast since at least the late 5^th century.[4]

American Christianity, however, seems to have discarded the fast of Lent; it was lost to Rome when they affirmed the corrupt medieval version of fasting in the 16^th century, in response to the Reformation. If fasting shows up in American Evangelicalism at all, it generally manifests as a tool by which the individual Christian, or group of Christians, hope to manipulate the Lord into doing something they want. We see this in events like the National Day of Prayer, the United Day of Fasting and Prayer, and the National Day of Mourning. This is different than, by prayer and supplication, bringing everything to God, and trusting in Him no matter what might come our way. It is the idea that, if we pray hard enough, sincerely enough, boldly enough, or with a great multitude of people, we can convince God to give us what we are praying for. That is not praying according to God’s will. It is a symptom of American Evangelicalism’s corruption by the prosperity gospel. American Evangelicalism lost such things as Lent when they lost the lectionary and stopped worshipping according to the rhythms of the church year, whenever that was. Mainline liberal Protestants may have preserved the liturgical forms such as the lectionary and liturgical worship, but they threw out their belief in Christ, the very thing to which the fast was intended to direct them, in exchange for the deception of Higher Criticism and cultural relevance. To be certain, in the theological desert of American Evangelicalism, liturgical worshipers with black smudges of ash on their foreheads appear as a peculiar minority. The Lenten fast is seen as an attempt by men to earn God’s favor by their own good work.

So, should Christians fast? Should they put ashes on their heads and “give up things for Lent”? Jesus and His disciples didn’t fast; John the Baptist’s disciples questioned Jesus about this: Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?[5] Earlier in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus condemns the hypocritical public prayers of the Pharisees, which they perform as a way of showing how pious they are; [6] He condemns public charity done for the same reason.[7] Jesus is consistent when it comes to fasting. Fasting done publicly to show what a good person you are is to be condemned: Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites…[8]

Jesus said, however, when you fast; He did not say, “Do not fast.” In fact, it isn’t quite accurate to say that Jesus and His disciples didn’t fast. Jesus fasted for 40 days in the wilderness: Then [after His baptism] Jesus was led up by the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.[9] It is true that Jesus did not command His disciples to fast, but there are instances when they did so. One such instance was when Barnabas and Saul were called by the Holy Spirit: Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.[10] Another time was after Barnabas and Saul preached in Derbe: And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.[11]

Fasting is not a way for people to earn God’s favor, or to “work off” or “make up for” sin. This is what Roman Catholicism teaches.[12] No, through faith in Christ we have a new and clean heart, and God does account us entirely righteous for the sake of Christ, our Mediator.[13] Fasting and prayer are also not tools by which we can manipulate God and get Him to do what we want. God hears our prayers for the sake of Christ, and answers them in His own way, and in His own time.

Fasting can be good for us, just like physical exercises can be good for us.[14] Fasting can move our focus from ourselves and our sinful desires, and help us develop self-control. The time we spend denying the desires of the flesh, that is, our Old Man, we can use to pray, and to study God’s Word, and to cultivate the fruits of the Spirit, things in which our New Man delights.[15]

It has always been the practice of Confessional Lutheranism to get rid of the traditions which are harmful, but to retain those which are helpful. The imposition of ashes and the Lenten fast fall into the second category. Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. We hear God’s Word calling us to repentance. We see the literal stain of ashes on our heads, which by itself is an outward mark of repentance throughout the Bible, reminding us that we are stained by sin. When the pastor puts those ashes on our heads, however, he draws them in the sign of the cross. This isn’t meant to be some mystical, magical symbol to ward off evil; by it we are to call to mind our baptism. The guilt of our sin has been paid for by Christ’s blood, shed on the cross. We can cling to His promise that, by His death and resurrection, Christ has set us free from sin, death, and the devil. We have a High Priest over the house of God. Our hearts have been sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies have been washed with the pure waters of baptism, which binds us to Christ, His death, and His resurrection.[16] In our baptism, that stain of sin has been washed away.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.[17]

Go, get your ashes. Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return. Know that the stain of your sin corrupts your very nature, and that you are unable to make it better. Repent, and believe the Gospel. Remember your baptism. Remember that Jesus has washed away the stain of your sin. Remember that we were fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, extortioners, and perhaps many other things;

But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.[18]

---

[1] Lueker, Erwin Louis., ed. Lutheran Cyclopedia: A Concise In-Home Reference for the Christian Family. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1984. See p. 179

[2] 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

[3] Lueker, Erwin Louis., ed. Lutheran Cyclopedia: A Concise In-Home Reference for the Christian Family. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publ. House, 1984. See p. 179

[4] Ibid., p. 179, 292

[5] Matthew 9:14

[6] Matthew 6:5

[7] Matthew 6:1-4

[8] Matthew 6:16

[9] Matthew 4:1-2

[10] Acts 13:1-3

[11] Acts 14:21-23

[12] Fasting is a form of penance, and penance is a way of making satisfaction for sins. Catechism of the Catholic Church. New Hope, KY: Urbi Et Orbi Communications, 1994. See p. 360, paragraph 1434.

[13] McCain, Paul Timothy., ed. Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions: A Readers Edition of the Book of Concord. Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005. SA III, 1

[14] 1 Timothy 4:8

[15] Galatians 5:22; Romans 7:21-25

[16] Hebrews 10:19-25

[17] 1 Peter 3:18-22

[18] 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Ash Wednesday

“Moreover, when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:16-18). 

I grew up in a congregation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod that practiced the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. The people would approach the pastor, who was standing in the front of church. He held a silver vessel containing an unappealing black substance. It was the burned remnants of the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday mixed with oil. As the people would come to the pastor, he would blacken his thumb with the ashes and make the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead. He would tell each person, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” I never realized, however, that this was fasting. Growing up when and where I did, I also didn’t realize that what was to me a natural part of the Ash Wednesday worship service was, in other places, quite a contentious issue. 

Later, attending college in what is referred to by some as the “Bible Belt,” I met many people, Christians and non-Christians, who were shocked by this worship practice. Lutherans were few in number in Murray, Ky. Most of my friends were some flavor of evangelical protestant. Knowing that I professed to be a Christian, when the inevitable discussion would arise, many would quote this passage of scripture to me, and tell me the imposition of ashes was unbiblical. I had to admit that I had not thought about it in that way before. It certainly seemed logical. 

It has always been the Confessional Lutheran view that the Church should not do away with good traditions and practices, but only those things that take away from the Gospel. The Imposition of Ashes is one of those good traditions. Fasting was an important part of the Jewish religion. The problem Jesus had with fasting was not the practice, but that the hypocrites turned it into a work of self-glorification. Jesus does not forbid fasting, either here or elsewhere. He expects his disciples to fast. Jesus says, “When you fast…” The issue with fasting is not should it be practiced, but rather, are we doing it so other people with think we are holy? Do our hearts feel true sorrow and humility? Fasting can be good training for our will, but God does not command particular times, places, or forms of fasting.[1] There is nothing we have to offer, no work we can do, no ceremony we can perform, in order to merit God’s forgiveness. 

After leaving church on Ash Wednesday, sometimes people forgot that they had a smear of ashes on their forehead. Sometimes they would inadvertently scratch their foreheads. The residue on their finger would serve as a subtle reminder that they were dust, and to dust they must one day return. Before going to bed, looking in the mirror, one is once again reminded they are marked with the black stain of sin. 

Those ashes, however, are drawn on the forehead in the sign of a cross. Not as if the cross is some kind of magic sign to ward off evil. It is also as a reminder. The cross reminds us that the guilt of mankind’s sin has been paid for by Christ’s death. The blood of Christ shed on the cross has justified us. We did not participate in Christ’s saving work at all. It happened while we were still powerless.[2] God has given us forgiveness as a gift, through Christ Jesus. He sends His Holy Spirit to us to create faith in our hearts through the means of his Word and Sacraments. He enables us to do works that please him – not in order to earn his favor – but to glorify his most holy name. Fasting, and other traditions like the Imposition of Ashes, can help us to look at our sin, confess it, and acknowledge our need for a savior. These traditions, used properly, and not imposed as a law, focus us on Christ and Him crucified.

___________

[1] Luther, Martin. Luther's Small Catechism. Translated by Concordia Publishing House. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1991.

[2] Romans 5:8-9

Fasting: Ashes and Ash Wednesday

When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matthew 6:16-18).

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. Lent is the 40 fast days before Easter. The name, as you probably figured out, comes from the practice of the ancient church of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents as a physical act of contrition and repentance for their sin. Ashes are a symbolic mark of humiliation, contrition, and mourning (Harrison, Bromiley and Henry 1990). During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence. Many churches strip their altars of candles, flowers, and other devotional offerings, while crucifixes, statues, and other elaborate religious gear may be veiled in violet.

I grew up in a congregation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod that practiced the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. That is to say, on Ash Wednesday, parishioners would line up during the worship service to have the pastor put ashes on their head. The people would approach the pastor, who was standing in the front of church. In his hand he held a silver vessel containing an unappealing black substance – the burned remnants of the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday mixed with oil. As the people would come to the pastor, he would blacken his thumb with the ashes and make the sign of the cross on the person’s forehead. During this process he would tell each parishioner, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

I never realized, however, that this was "fasting." Growing up when and where I did, I also didn’t realize that what was to me a natural part of the Ash Wednesday worship service was, in other places, quite a contentious issue.

Later, attending college in what is referred to by some as the “Bible Belt,” I met many people, Christians and non-Christians, who were shocked by the worship practice I shall refer to as the Imposition of Ashes. Lutherans were few in number in Murray, Ky. All my friends were some flavor of evangelical protestant. Knowing that I professed to be a Christian, when the inevitable discussion would arise, many would quote this passage of scripture to me. “Jesus said, ‘…do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting.’ This practice is not Biblical.” I had to admit that I had not thought about it in that way before. It certainly seemed logical, when cast in that light. My only allies on campus were the Roman Catholics, who also practiced this tradition. This only made my position worse. Most of the evangelicals thought of Lutherans, if they thought of them at all, as “Catholic light.” They tended to think of Roman Catholics as some kind of non-Christian cult.

Jesus, however, doesn’t forbid fasting. In fact, it seems as if he sort-of expects his followers to fast. Jesus begins by saying, “When you fast…” The issue with fasting is not, “Should it be practiced?” Jesus takes it for granted that his followers would fast. When Jesus was lead by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil, he himself fasted forty days and nights[1]. This issue is, rather, does our fast merely make an outward show of repentance, or do our hearts feel true sorrow and humility. In his commentary, Paul Kretzmann explains Jesus’ words this way:

Again the Lord emphasizes the contrast. A mere outward show of repentance without change of heart does not befit the followers of Jesus. Fasting they may practise [Sic.] indeed; that is a laudable custom and may be productive of good. But in doing so, all ostentation must be avoided. It is the heart that should feel the sorrow and humility, not the body. Therefore the usual daily washing and anointing should not be omitted, in order that men might not even know the conditions (Kretzmann 1921).

Fasting was an integral part of the Jewish religion. The problem Jesus had with “fasting” was not the practice, but rather that the hypocrites turned this profitable practice into a work of self-glorification. It is clear from Matthew’s Gospel that the hypocrites were neglecting their daily washing etc., in order to give the impression that the fast was taking a great toll on them.

They neglected the daily care of the face, to make the effect of the semiweekly fast appear all the more harrowing. It was an empty show in order that they might play a more important figure and get the reputation of greater holiness. They have all the reward they will ever get. They need expect nothing from the Lord (Kretzmann 1921).

Fasting, such as that undertaken by some during the Lenten season, and including the Imposition of Ashes, is neither commanded nor forbidden by Holy Scripture. The decision whether or not to do these things has been left by God to the individual Christian. This issue – what is referred to by theologians as “Adiaphora” – was important to Luther and the reformers. While they wished to see many of the historic practices of the church retained, they objected to Rome’s assertion of its authority in these matters of Adiaphora, and to require them as necessary for salvation. Luther writes the following to the congregation at Esslingen, in a letter responding to his critics when they accused him of requiring works (particularly private confession):

…Likewise I prevent no one from fasting, making a pilgrimage, eating meat, observing days, etc., if only it is done of one’s own accord, and not done as though he had to do it in conscience and as though omitting it would be a mortal sin, as the Pope with his blind leaders raves… (Pieper 1953).

In the Augsburg Confession Philipp Melanchthon writes Article 26 to address complex rules and regulations devised by the Church commanding fasting:

First, the chief part of the Gospel – the doctrine of grace and of the righteousness of faith – has been obscured by this view[2]. The Gospel should stand out as the most prominent teaching in the Church, in order that Christ’s merit may be well known and faith, which believes that sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, be exalted far above works. Therefore, Paul also lays the greatest stress on this article, putting aside the Law and human traditions, in order to show that Christian righteousness is something other than such works (Romans 14:17). Christian righteousness is the faith that believes that sins are freely forgiven for Christ’s sake. But this doctrine of Paul has been almost completely smothered by traditions, which have produced the opinion that we must merit grace and righteousness by making distinctions in meats and similar services. When repentance was taught, there was no mention made of faith. Only works of satisfaction were set forth. And so repentance seemed to stand entirely on these works (McCain, et al. 2005).

This view of fasting and human tradition presented in the Book of Concord is distilled by Pieper in his work, “Christian Dogmatics”:

Scripture instructs Christians to regard teachers who pretend to know more than Christ’s Word contains as bloated ignoramuses (1 Tim. 6:3 ff.). And those who attempt to impose what the Word of Christ leaves free, e.g., forbidding to marry or commanding to fast and abstain from food and drink, are properly regarded by the Christians as arrogant deceivers and disseminators of doctrines of devils (1 Tim. 4:1-5; Col. 2:20-23). The Pope may impose a fast on himself, but on no one else in the world (Pieper 1953).

Working to curb one’s sinful desires through the application of bodily discipline can, at times, be appropriate and necessary (McCain, et al. 2005). It should never be taught, however, that such outward activities earn God’s favor. Only the Lord can look into people’s hearts and know if their actions stem from penitence, or if they are simply putting on a show for men. Like many other historic practices of the church, the Imposition of Ashes has been retained in the Lutheran Church because it is profitable, and not as a work to merit righteousness. It has been the Lutheran view, from the time of the Reformation until today, that the Church should not do away with good traditions and practices, but only those things that take away from the Gospel.

The Imposition of Ashes is one of those good traditions. It seems to get people’s attention, and not just because of the strange black mark on the forehead. Hearing the pastor’s reminder that you are dust – perishable – is humbling. Hearing him tell every man, woman, and child that they will return to that dust someday is sobering. As a young person I remember looking around at all my friends and neighbors, young and old, rich and poor, thinking that, no matter what our earthly differences might be, we were equal in one aspect – we would all die. We would all die, and there was nothing within our power to change that fact. We were, in fact, dead already, in our sin[3]. We could not ignore our sin.

After leaving church on Ash Wednesday, sometimes people would forget that they had a weird, nasty smear of ashes on their forehead. They would inadvertently scratch their foreheads sometime and be reminded by the residue on their finger that they were dust, and to dust they must one day return. Before going to bed, looking in the mirror, one would once again be reminded they were marked with the black stain of sin, and that they were dust, returning to the dust from whence they came.

Those ashes, however, are drawn on the forehead in the sign of a cross. Not as if the cross is some kind of magic sign to ward off evil, but also as a reminder. The cross reminds us that the guilt of mankind’s sin has been paid for by Christ’s death. The blood of Christ shed on the cross has justified us. We did not participate in Christ’s saving work at all. It happened, as St. Paul wrote, while we were still powerless:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him (Rom 5: 8-9).

Fasting can be good training for our will, but God does not command particular times, places, or forms of fasting (Luther 1991). There is nothing we have to offer, no work we can do, no ceremony we can perform, in order to merit God’s forgiveness. God has given us forgiveness as a gift, through Christ Jesus, and he sends His Holy Spirit to us to create faith in our hearts through the means of his Word and Sacraments. He enables us to do works that please him – not in order to earn his grace – but to glorify his most holy name. Fasting, and other traditions like the Imposition of Ashes, can help us to look at our sin, confess it, and acknowledge our need for a savior. These traditions, used properly, and not imposed as a law, focus us on Christ and Him crucified.

Works Cited

Harrison, Everett F, Geoffrey W Bromiley, and Carl F Henry, . Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1990.

Kretzmann, Paul E. Popular Commentary of the Bible: New Testament. Vol. 1. 2 vols. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1921.

Luther, Martin. Luther's Small Catechism. Translated by Concordia Publishing House. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1991.

McCain, Paul Timothy, Robert Cleveland Baker, Gene Edward Veith, and Edward Andrew Engelbrecht, . Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Translated by William Hermann Theodore Dau and Gerhard Friedrich Bente. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2005.

Pieper, D.D., Francis. Christian Dogmatics. Vol. 3. 3 vols. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House, 1953.

End Notes

[1] Matthew 4:1-2

[2] Not only the people, but also those teaching in the churches, have generally been persuaded to believe in making distinctions between meats, and similar human traditions. They believe these are useful works for meriting grace and are able to make satisfaction for sins (AC XXVI 1).

[3] Ephesians 2:1

You are dust, and unto dust you shall return.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God though our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us (Romans 5: 1-5).

When I was growing up, one of the church experiences I remember explicitly is the imposition of ashes at worship on Ash Wednesday. I remember those worship services as being reverent, solemn, and slightly disconcerting. The part that made the biggest impression on me was walking to the front of the church with the rest of the congregation to receive ashes. It was a curious and extraordinary thing to hear the pastor’s pronouncement upon us all as we each received the ashes on our foreheads. Old and young, rich and poor, we were all told the same thing. I can still hear the voice of my childhood pastor speaking those words, “You are dust, and unto dust you shall return.” There was no difference between any of us standing there in God’s presence. We were all dust. It didn’t matter what kind of car you drove, how big your house was, or how much money you had in the bank. Unto dust you shall return. Not that I grasped the full significance of that ceremony as a child; on some rudimentary level, though, I got the message, and it stuck with me.

When I went away to college in western Kentucky, there were relatively few Lutherans or Roman Catholics, and so the practice of receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday was not as familiar to the general public. I was asked on more than one occasion by perplexed acquaintances, “Why do you have dirt on your forehead?” I would explain that I had gone to church and this is what we did on Ash Wednesday. It was the beginning of Lent. Some people thought it was an odd practice. Others were curious. They all knew, however, that I was a religious person because I had taken part in a solemn, and somewhat mysterious (at least to them), ceremony. I am ashamed to say that I enjoyed that feeling. My church is so much cooler than their church; we have to do more stuff than them. Now I am embarrassed of how I thought and acted then, no better than a Pharisee, whose hearts were far from God, though their lips praised him[1]. 

Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. Lent is the 40 fast days before Easter. The name, as you probably figured out, comes from the practice of the ancient church of sprinkling ashes on the heads of penitents as a physical act of contrition and repentance for their sin. Ashes are a symbolic mark of humiliation[2], contrition[3] and mourning[4] (Harrison, Bromiley, & Henry, 1999). During Lent, many of the faithful commit to fasting or giving up certain types of luxury as a form of penitence. Many churches strip their altars of candles, flowers, and other devotional offerings, while crucifixes, statues, and other elaborate religious gear may be veiled in violet (Lent, 2012).

According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus spent forty days fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry. During this period of fasting he endured temptation by Satan. Thus, Lent is described as being forty days long. Different churches calculate this forty day period differently. Generally, however, most churches do not count the Sundays during this period as a part of Lent.

My personal understanding of the significance of Ash Wednesday and Lent has deepened significantly from the days when I was in college. This is how Lent and Ash Wednesday are described in the devotional book, “Treasury of Daily Prayer”:

During the forty days of Lent, God’s baptized people cleanse their hearts through the discipline of Lent: repentance, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is a time in which God’s people prepare with joy for the Paschal Feast (Easter). It is a time in which God renews His people’s zeal in faith and life. It is a time in which we pray that we may be given the fullness of grace that belongs to the children of God (Kinnaman, 2008).

As an immature Christian, though, all I got out of it was a pharisaic feeling of self-righteousness and spiritual superiority. Nice. Like many others – most notably the Pharisees – I had taken something that was intended to point me toward the Savior and turned it into a vehicle, or a good work, for earning my own righteousness.

God’s Law indeed commands us to do good works of thought, word, and deed. It also condemns and punishes sin. It is by the Gospel – through faith in Jesus – that God gives forgiveness, eternal life, and the power to please him with good works (Luther, 1986). The words of St. Paul in the fifth chapter of Romans could not be clearer. St. Paul assures the Roman readers of his epistle, and us as well, that it is not through any deed we do with our hands that God forgives our sinfulness, but through faith in Christ Jesus, the Son of God.

Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:37).

In asking this question, Jesus makes it painfully obvious that there is nothing that we can give to ransom our soul from damnation. This is the idea that St. Paul echoes in verse six of Romans chapter five when he writes, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.”

St. Paul describes us as “ungodly” and “powerless”. Because of our sinful disobedience, we are ungodly. When Adam and Eve knowingly chose to disobey God, in order to obtain knowledge which they sinfully thought God was denying them, human nature was corrupted. Our parents had lost the ability to know and please God, and this corrupt nature has been passed on to us.

Fasting and other acts of worship are not in and of themselves harmful. On the contrary, when they are employed properly, practices such as fasting can greatly enhance one’s spiritual life[5]. There are many instances of fasting recorded in Holy Scripture[6]. Jesus himself, as discussed earlier, fasted in the wilderness while contending with Satan[7]. The danger arises when we, in the manner of the Pharisees, become self-righteous, seeking to gain God’s gracious forgiveness by our deeds, and substituting these deeds for real repentance.

This is one of the major issues which led to the Reformation. Over time, the church developed complex regulations about fasting and holy days. The people were taught that by following these rules, they earned God’s grace and good favor. They thought that the more things they did, such as fasting and giving money to the church, the more holy they were. Philipp Melanchthon wrote in the Augsburg Confession:

First, the chief part of the Gospel – the doctrine of grace and of the righteousness of faith – has been obscured...The Gospel should stand out as the most prominent teaching in the Church, in order that Christ’s merit may be well known and faith, which believes that sins are forgiven for Christ’s sake, be exalted far above works...Christian righteousness is something other than such works[8]. Christian righteousness is the faith that believes that sins are freely forgiven for Christ’s sake (McCain, Baker, Veith, & Engelbrecht, 2005)[9].

Jesus spoke plainly[10] to his disciples about how he would pay for humanity’s sinfulness:

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again (Mark 8:31).

Jesus lays out God’s plan of salvation to the disciples and they, yet again, fail to understand it. Peter has the dubious distinction of rebuking the Savior later in this passage from the Gospel of Mark. Doubtless the disciples, who, at least at this point, saw Jesus as a political Messiah who would lead the revolt against Roman oppression, were greatly shocked to hear Jesus say that he must be killed and rise again after three days. St. Paul, again in the fifth chapter of Romans, sums up Jesus’ teaching:

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him (Rom 5: 8-9).

The blood of Christ shed on the cross has justified us. We did not participate in Christ’s saving work at all. It happened, as St. Paul wrote, while we were still powerless. There is nothing we have to offer, no work we can do, no ceremony we can perform, in order to merit God’s forgiveness. God has given us forgiveness as a gift, and he sends His Holy Spirit to us to create faith in our hearts and enable us to do works that please him – not in order to earn his grace – but to glorify his most holy name.

But how could the blood of one man make atonement for the sins of mankind? Psalm 49:7 says, “No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him.” The answer is found in the pages of Holy Scripture: Jesus Christ is not only truly human but also truly God.

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being (Hebrews 1:3).

Again Scripture records the deity of Christ:

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form… (Col. 2:9).

Christ had to be true God in order that his fulfilling of the Law, His life, suffering, and death might be a sufficient ransom for all people (Luther, 1986).

You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 1: 18-19).

Through his suffering, death and resurrection, Christ has triumphed over death. He has acted as mankind’s substitute, taking the punishment for sin that was meant for us. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have been given the gift of eternal life.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Scripture tells us that God wants all men to be saved. However, many reject the Word and resist the work of the Holy Spirit. On Calvary’s cross Jesus, God in human flesh, stretched wide his arms to embrace mankind. Do not turn a blind eye to his sacrifice and a deaf ear to his call – what He did, He did for you. This is what we acknowledge on Ash Wednesday. During the fast days of Lent, we come before Him in repentance, acknowledging our sinfulness. We, by the working of the Holy Spirit, refocus and follow Christ on his journey to the cross, and prepare to celebrate the fulfillment of God’s salvation plan at Easter.

End Notes

[1] Matthew 15:8-9

[2] Isaiah 61:3

[3] Daniel 9:3

[4] Matthew 11:21

[5] 1 Corinthians 9:27

[6] 1 Samuel 7:6; Nehemiah 1:4; Joel 2:12; Acts 10:30; 13:3; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 6:5; 11:27

[7] Matthew 4:2

[8] Romans 14:17

[9] Augsburg Confession XXVI 4-6, “The Distinction of Meats” 

[10] Mark 8:32

Works Cited

Engelbrecht, E. A. (2009). The Lutheran Study Bible, English Standard Version. Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.

Harrison, E. F., Bromiley, G. W., & Henry, C. F. (Eds.). (1999). Wycliffe Dictionary of Theology. Peabody, Massachusetts, USA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.

Kinnaman, S. A. (Ed.). (2008). Treasury of Daily Prayer. Saint Louis, MO, USA: Concordia Publishing House.

Lent. (2012, February 22). Retrieved February 22, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent

Luther, D. M. (1986). Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation. St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House.

McCain, P. T., Baker, R. C., Veith, G. E., & Engelbrecht, E. A. (Eds.). (2005). Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. A Reader's Edition of the Book of Concord. Saint Louis, MO, USA: Concordia Publishing House.