We are now in the season of Lent. The church seasons (everyone marks seasons and holidays) help us to focus on different aspects of the life of Christ. Lent is, perhaps, the most misunderstood of the church seasons. So, what is Lent?

Lent is the “Season of the Cross” which leads up to Good Friday and ends on Easter with the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. It is 40 days in length (Sundays are omitted and are always marked as feast days) which is a reminder of Jesus’ 40 days of warfare in the wilderness against the devil. The purpose of Lent is not, primarily, to have unique worship experiences or to engage in the many Lenten practices that are re-emerging among Protestants, but to meditate upon this question, “Why the Cross?”

May this Lenten season transform The Church, across denominational lines, in Santa Clarita. As we meditate upon the reasons why Jesus needed to come and needed to die, may we be deepened in our understanding of God’s deep and wide grace. And as we ponder Jesus’ 40 day struggle in the wilderness against a deadly enemy may we be reminded, once again, that Christians are united to Christ, and that they as well, are engaged to fight against the enemies of God: The World, The Flesh, and The devil.