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It is a misconception to suppose that Lent is concerned only
with discipline, self-denial and dreariness, as the ecclesiastical clock ticks
its way towards the Cross. For one thing, Lent is punctuated by four Sundays
which are not counted among the ‘Forty Days’ of Lent. The reason
they are not counted is that, for the Christian, Sunday is a recapitulation
of Easter Day: a day of life, joy and hope. This does not neutralize the place
of penitence, self-discipline and self-renunciation. But it does place it
within a framework of victory and triumph.
In a sense the Christian observance of Lent involves reading
the story of the life of Jesus backwards. We have ‘cheated’ and
read the last chapter—the chapter about the Resurrection—first,
and we read all the earlier chapters in the light of that. So while in Lent
we probe the human condition of sin and shortcoming and the need of penitence,
we do so from the perspective of the possibilities of grace brought by new
life in Christ. So the themes suggested by the readings in the lectionary
are not merely those of sin and failure. They are also those of triumph and
victory guaranteed to us by the Resurrection of the Christ of the cross.
These sermons are presented by Alex Deasley. Dr. Deasley is retired professor of New Testament from Nazarene Theological Seminary.
These sermons are presented by the editors of Preacher's Magazine.