 |
|
     |
|
|
|
Many Christians observe the last few Sundays before Lent as "pre-Lenten" Sundays. This might look slightly daft: After all, Lent is itself a period of preparation for Easter, and if we need a time of preparation for the time of preparation, perhaps we also need a pre-pre-Lent to prepare for pre-Lent. It threatens to become an infinite regression.
Yet, the Christians who designed the church calendar with all its halting beginnings displayed a great deal of wisdom. Among other things, the pre-Lenten Sundays help to head off any notion that the Lenten fast will be a matter of heroic spirituality. The BCP collect for the wonderfully named "Sunday Next before Lent" reads:
"O Lord, who hast taught us that all our works without love are worth nothing: Send Your Holy Spirit, and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtues, without which whosoever lives is counted dead before thee: Grant this for the sake of Your only Son Jesus Christ. Amen."
For anyone paying attention, this is a blunt reminder that the Lenten fast that begins on Ash Wednesday is nothing without love, and that the love that gives a fast its focus is a gift of the Spirit. The periods of pre-festive preparation that mark the church calendar are a reminder that we can come to the feast only if we are clothed appropriately; the pre-preparation periods that mark the church calendar are a reminder that we come to be clothed rightly only by grace.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Saturday, February 25, 2006 at 06:54 AM
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
