What’s the point of Lent?

For broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 9 Feb 2014.

The observance of Lent begins on March 5, a solemn six-week preparation by many Christians for Easter Sunday involving penance, prayer and fasting.

On Thursday, one of my Facebook friends, an Anglican minister, took to Facebook saying he was “trying to organise a Zwinglian sausage festival for Lent, to remind us of our freedom in Christ.”

Sure enough, sixteenth century Protestant Reformer Ulrich Zwingli said: “Christians are free to fast or not to fast because the Bible does not prohibit the eating of meat during Lent.”

But another of my Facebook friends replied:

This [post] has a hint of: “Thank You, God that I am not like that Catholic over there who abstains from meat during Lent or that Jew or Muslim who abstain from pork.”  Lent is about [contemplating] Jesus and his way to the Cross, not point scoring with other believers.

Both of my Facebook friends had good points worth considering.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.