Lent began as communal act of solidarity with those preparing to be initiated into the Christian life through baptism. During the period leading up to the eve of Pascha, converts were intensively instructed in the teachings and spirituality of the Christian assembly. When Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, in prayer, fasting, and eventually testing by the Adversary, he prepared for his ministry of teaching, and signs (Lk. . Likewise, the 40 year sojourn of Israel in the desert shaped, and prepared them for a life of fidelity and success. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, reminds us that in our spiritual life (read: in life generally) we ought to train to win, or risk the possibility of being disqualified (1Cor 9.24-7).

Our Christian life is an active life. We do not merely assent to a set of ideas and doctrines. Instead we strive to live the teaching and example of Christ. One of the functions of our sacramental communities is to support and encourage one another in our training. Individually and collectively we try new ways of living the teaching. Some work, and are passed on to others. Some fail, and we confidently rely upon our brothers and sisters to help us get up off of the ground and get back into the race. Today, more than ever before in history, it is so easy to forget, or to become careless in our discipline to achieve theosis. We no longer live in “Christian” societies, where a moderate discipline of prayer, service, and study is the norm. Now we are challenged to train in a more conscientious manner.

We ought not to approach Lent, therefore, with an attitude of suffering and grovelling. Rather, we ought to approach it with joy, as a gift of our tradition, a built in annual intensive refresher course in Christian life.