This is a confusing time of year for those of us in non-Catholic and non-protestant churches. That statement alone might cause some confusion. Vernon Lyons wrote a helpful article that explains. “Protestants date from the sixteenth century. They are the Lutherans, the Reformed, and others who were once Roman Catholics and left the Roman Catholic faith to start denominations of their own. The Baptists never left the Roman Catholic church as did Luther, Calvin and Zwingli. They never left because they were never in. They did not begin their existence at the time of the Reformation, but hundreds of years prior to the Reformation.”1
As I said, this is a confusing time of year. Today is Ash Wednesday. Yesterday was Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras in the French. While we don’t celebrate Fat Tuesday (other than eating a paczki!) or Ash Wednesday, we might wonder what is going on and why we don’t celebrate.
Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten season. Lent is the 40-day period (excluding Sundays) that leads up to Easter Sunday. It is marked with self-denial, fasting from certain things, and moderation. Observants will go to a special church service where they will receive the symbol of a cross rubbed on their foreheads with the ash of burned palm leaves from the previous Sunday.
Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) marks a day of excessive indulgence. It follows Carnival, a week of indulgence leading up to a day of binge. So, for seven days, let’s eat, drink, and be merry. On the seventh day, let’s take our binge to the most extreme in excess. Then we will spend 40 days of penance starting with getting some ashes smeared on our forehead to indicate our sincere devotion as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Once Easter is finished, we can resume the things we gave up for Lent, if we choose.
Does any of that sound Biblical to you?
First of all, let’s acknowledge that the Bible does call for fasting. However, Matthew 6:16-18 says, “Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (17) But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; (18) That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” Our fasting is a private matter, not something to be on display for the church to see.
Second, Christians are never given the right to Carnival or Mardi Gras. Romans 13:13-14 says, “Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” The atmosphere of a Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans violates every part of this passage. GotQuestions ministries calls it “the bender before the benediction.”
“For many people, the week of Carnival is a free pass to do whatever you want. The revelers are open about their fleshly pursuits: each year in Rio de Janeiro is a ceremony in which the keys to the city are handed over to “the king of carnal delights.” In the minds of partygoers, any misbehavior during Carnival is justified. During Carnival, nothing “counts”; it’s as if it never happened. Because of the license to sin, people lie, fight, get drunk, use drugs, and engage in sexual promiscuity more than at any other time of the year. Crime is a perennial problem at Carnival, with arrests made every year for sexual assault, murder, illegal gambling, theft, illegal gun possession, etc.”2
Once the Lenten season ends, the observant tends to retake the things they sacrificed. Many of the things given up for Lent are things they shouldn’t be doing anyway.
Finally, Ash Wednesday is a time to confess your sin before the season of lent. The Bible doesn’t teach seasonal confession. Instead, we are taught to confess our sin immediately. To maintain the fellowship of 1 John, we read these important words in 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Many are deceived by these religious traditions. Some believers may participate in ignorance to the truth while others participate, enhancing the darkness that has captivated their unredeemed hearts. As Christians, rather than involving ourselves in the traditions of man and religion which are rife with error and flaws, we need to practice Galatians 5:16. “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
1https://comingintheclouds.org/about-protestant/why-baptists-are-not-protestants/
2https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-Carnival.html
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