The beacon

"Oh, no, I can't do that," the young man replied, "I gave them up for Lent."

Yes, we have arrived at the season of Lent, that period of the church year in which people figure we are supposed to feel miserable. After all, just prior to Ash Wednesday we run into Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras in French - a time of joy and revelry which stands in stark contrast to the observance that begins the next day. The fun stops. At least that is the popular understanding.

· The word "lent" means "lengthen" and stands for that time in spring when the days grow longer.

·  The original period of Lent was 40 hours. It was spent fasting to commemorate the suffering of Christ and the 40 hours He spent in the tomb.

·  In the early 3^rd century, Lent was lengthened to 6 days. About 800 AD it was changed to 40 days.

·  Lent starts on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before Easter.

·  Sundays are not included in those 40 days.

·  Those 40 days correspond

· with Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness.

· Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, is celebrated in many parts of the world with feasting. The French call it "Mardi Gras". The Germans call it "Fausching". The feasting comes from the custom of using up household fats prior to the 40 days of Lenten fasting, when no fat is used.

· Shrove Tuesday takes it’s name from "shriving" or forgiving sins.
During Bach’s day, often the organ and choirs were silent during Lent.

· In early England, women of the parish traditionally spent Holy Week scrubbing the church, so it would sparkle for the Festival of Easter.

The Lenten observance began as a time of purification and preparation. In the early church, baptism was only performed on Easter Sunday - an entire year's worth of converts to the faith would be baptized and brought into the church on that day. Lent was the time before Easter in which these converts would fast and pray, preparing themselves to be members of Christ's church. As years went by, the church began to baptize and

confirm people on days other than Easter Sunday. Lent was no longer a time of preparation for these events, but it remained as a special time of prayer and fasting. After the Reformation, the discipline of fasting became unpopular (and it has never regained much favour). Thus, as a way of preserving Lent as a time of self-sacrifice, the church leaders encouraged people to give up something they enjoyed during Lent. (For years, I have suggested that the church give up MEETINGS for Lent, but I am still working on that one.)
I’d like to suggest that we GIVE UP looking at other people's worst points. Instead concentrate on their best points. We all have faults. It is a lot easier to have people overlook our shortcomings when we overlook theirs first. Yes it is time we GIVE UP...