GRAPEVINE
A weekly spiritual insight, sharing a Bible verse paired with a thoughtful reflection to deepen your connection with God and illuminate His path for your life.
Thought for the week - 18th February 2026
We step away from our ‘Journey through the Bible: from Genesis to Revelation’ this week to celebrate LENT.
THE CHURCH SEASON OF LENT
Its history, meaning and practice
Each year, Christians around the world enter a sacred season known as Lent - a forty-day journey of repentance, reflection, and renewal that prepares the Church for the joy of Easter. The word ‘lent’ derives from the Old English word ‘lencten’, which referred to the spring season and literally meant “lengthen” - a reference to the lengthening of daylight hours in the springtime. Though the practices may vary across traditions, the heart of Lent remains the same: to walk with Christ toward the cross and, ultimately, toward the hope of resurrection.
A forty day season of preparation for Easter has been observed by the Church since at least the fourth century. The number forty holds deep biblical significance. In the Old Testament, Moses fasted for forty days on Mount Sinai, and the prophet Elijah journeyed forty days to Horeb. Most importantly, in the New Testament, Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness, facing temptation before beginning His public ministry. Lent mirrors this wilderness experience - a time of testing, dependence on God, and spiritual clarity. The forty days do not include Sundays as the Lord’s Day is always a day of celebration.
Originally, Lent was a period of preparation for new believers who would be baptized at the Easter Vigil. Over time, Lent became a season for the entire Church to engage in self-examination and renewal.
At its core, Lent is about repentance and grace. Lent invites us to turn away from sin and self-sufficiency and turn toward God with humility and renewed trust.
Three traditional practices shape the season: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer deepens our communion with God. Fasting teaches us self-denial and dependence on Him. Almsgiving turns our hearts outward in love and generosity toward others.
Importantly, Lent is not about earning God’s favour. Salvation is a gift of grace. Rather, Lent is a response to that grace - a time to clear away distractions and reorient our hearts toward Christ. It is both solemn and hopeful: solemn as we confront our sin, hopeful because we do so in the light of God’s mercy.
Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, a day marked by the imposition of ashes in the sign of a cross. In our parish, we mark ashes on the forehead or on the palms of our hands, with the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Turn from sin and turn to Christ.”
The use of ashes is deeply biblical. In Scripture, ashes are a sign of mourning, repentance, and humility before God. Figures such as Job and Daniel expressed sorrow for sin by sitting in sackcloth and ashes. The ashes remind us of our mortality and our need for redemption. Yet the ashes are not placed randomly—they are traced in the shape of the cross. Even as we acknowledge our frailty, we do so marked by the sign of Christ’s victory. The message is both honest and hopeful: we are weak and mortal, but our weakness and mortality has been overwritten by the love of God on the cross.
As we journey through Lent, the ashes will fade but the power of the cross remains. We are invited into deeper repentance, deeper faith, and deeper joy - walking with Christ through the wilderness, trusting that Easter morning is coming.
Associate Minister, Revd Steve Turville
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