Many Christians believe that it is not necessary to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ never called on people to remember His birth when He was on earth. Moreover, as Jesus definitely was not born on 25th December, it seems meaningless to commemorate His birth on this date. However, when it comes to remembering the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ, every Christian needs to participate, because only by Jesus becoming the eternal redemptive offering for us can we enter eternal life and become the children of God. No wonder Jesus Christ established the Holy Communion for us to remember Him.
The suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ are related to the core of our faith, so it is a church tradition to institute “Lent” to help believers prepare themselves for the suffering and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Lent is also known as a “period of fasting” or a “period of forty days”. According to the tradition of the Catholic Church, Lent is the 40 days before Easter (excluding the six Sundays in between). This year’s Lent started on 14th February and will end on 30th March. As the name suggests, Lent is to prepare people’s hearts to remember the suffering and resurrection of Christ. From the beginning to the end of this period, there are many special days with rich spiritual meaning:
1. Ash Wednesday: It is the first day of Lent. According to church tradition, there will be a special gathering on Ash Wednesday, during which there will be an “Ash Sacrament”. The officiating pastor will personally use ashes to draw a cross on the forehead of each attending believer. The ashes are made from palm branches from previous Palm Sundays. Perhaps, this practice originated from the tradition of the Jews in the Old Testament era. Whenever they were in big sorrow or at repentance, they would wear sackcloth and put dust on themselves to express their helplessness and humiliation, and to ask God for mercy (Nehemiah 9:1). Genesis 3:19: “. . . for dust you are and to dust you will return” is cited in the liturgy, reminding us that we are just dust, and we need to be humble and examine our sins before God.
2. Palm Sunday: It is the last Sunday of Lent. The week after Palm Sunday is the “Holy Week”, also known as the “Passion Week”. Palm Sunday commemorates the glorious entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem riding on a donkey colt as a king. At that time, most of the crowds spread their cloaks on the road, and some others spread palm branches. They all shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21:1-11) This would fulfill the prophecy of the Old Testament prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9). Indeed, Jesus Christ is also the King of our lives, and He is the only one we can put our trust in.
3. Holy Week: It is the last week of Lent. Holy Week can be said to be the climax of the entire period. This commemorates the last week of Jesus Christ’s ministry in Jerusalem, which included the cleansing of the Temple (Matthew 21:12-13), the interrogation of the high priest, the teachers of the laws and Sanhedrin (Matthew 26:57-68), and His crucifixion for people’s sins (Matthew 27:32-56). Indeed, all this fulfills His prophecy to His disciples that He must “suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the laws, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matthew 16:21)
4. Maundy Thursday: It is the Thursday in the Holy Week. This day commemorates Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper and giving them a new command to love one another. It must be mentioned that Jesus Christ established the Holy Communion for us at the Last Supper. From then on, as people who have been redeemed by the crucified Jesus Christ, we follow the Lord’s command to commemorate His love with bread and grape juice. Jesus Christ is our eternal Savior, and without Him, we would not be what we are today; as Apostle Paul said: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, . . .” (1 Corinthians 15:10)
5. Good Friday: It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Churches will hold a special gathering on Good Friday mainly to retell or re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus, so that believers will never forget the saving grace of the Lord Jesus and reflect deeply on repaying. Last year, the church also used “Stations of the Cross” to let us meditate on the processional route Jesus Christ took for us. Jesus once said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
During Lent, some people suggested meditating on the penitential psalms in Psalms, such as Psalms 6, 32, 38, 51, 130, etc. Some people also suggested practicing living a simple life and cutting down on pleasure-seeking pursuits. Some people even advocated fasting, imitating the forty days of fasting practiced by believers in the past. In any case, thinking about the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ for us is the original intention of Lent. In this materialistic age, we really need to practice meditation before God, reflect on our relationship with God, examine our sins, ask the Lord for mercy and resolve to repent, so that our lives can once again focus on God’s will.
Pastor Winson Chan