The season of Lent starts tomorrow, February 17 with Ash Wednesday. The Lenten season is 40 days long, not counting Sundays, and it closes on Easter Day, April 4. Lent/Easter is the most important commemoration in the Christian year because of its focus on the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ as well as the central place that death and resurrection occupy in the theology of the New Testament.

The official, formalized practice of Lent began after the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. Although, the idea of fasting in preparation for Easter was common prior to Nicea, though not consistent in expression throughout the Christian world.

In the first century Paul the apostle note the centrality of the Cross when he said to the Corinthian Church, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” 1 Corinthians 2:1-2.

For the next 40 days, not including Sundays, I will post here a daily blog to promote the themes and importance of Lent/Easter. It is hoped that it will give you something to mull over each day as you consider the meaning of the Cross for your own life.