Why Some Christians Don’t Observe Lent – Rev. Hayab

Reverend Joseph John Hayab is the Chairman of the Northern Christians Association, also known as the Forum for Christians of Northern States and the FCT. He previously served as Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Kaduna State for eight years, later becoming CAN Chairman in Kaduna for five years. He also served as Public Relations Officer for the Northern Christian Association of Nigeria, formerly known as Northern CAN, and later became Vice Chairman of Northern CAN. In this interview with Igho Oyoyo, he speaks on the importance of Lent.

Sir, what is Lent? Why is it observed by Christians?

Well, not all Christian denominations observe Lent. But the Catholics, the Anglicans, and other churches do observe Lent. Lent is a very important aspect of the Christian faith, even though not all Christian groups observe it. So when you ask what Lent is, we simply define It as a period of spiritual preparation for Christians as they approach Easter Friday and Easter Sunday. It begins with Ash Wednesday, which lasts for about 40 days of fasting. We have many lessons in Scripture that teach us that even Jesus, before He began His earthly ministry, set aside 40 days and 40 nights to pray and fast. Fasting has been part of Bible history, so it did not just commence with us. In one of Jesus’ responses to His disciples, when they could not cast out demons, He told them that this kind can only come out through prayer and fasting. So Christians pray and fast, Lent or no Lent. Christians pray and fast to seek divine guidance and strength to fulfil their assignments. In some churches, the first 21 days of the year are dedicated to prayer and fasting. Since Jesus fasted, it is not wrong for any Christian to fast. It may not be a law, but it is encouraged. Christians use the season of Lent to seek the face of God for themselves, their families, and their spiritual good. And then for the nation, because the Bible says to pray for Jerusalem, the city where you live.

So, where is our Jerusalem? Nigeria. And you can even micro it into where you come from. Because of prayer’s efficacy, we believe God can solve problems through it. So a good number of Christians take the issues of Lent very seriously and dedicate time to pray and fast. Our prayer as Christians differs from that of people of other faiths. I was sharing with another faith cleric recently, and I said that our prayers and fasting are not the same. He asked me, “What do you mean?” I said, because when we fast, apart from abstaining from food and other things, we don’t wake up in the morning to eat, because we are going to fast. In fact, when you finish your dinner, and you have programmed it in your mind that the next day you are fasting, you have ended your meal. You are not going to eat again until you choose to break your fast. Most of the time, people break their fast in the evening. So you see, we are not just doing a 12-hour fast. No, no, no. Fasting is abstinence and dedication to seeking the face of God, to seeking the will of God. And people do that a lot as Christians.

So what is the significance of Lent?

Lent has a lot of significance. One, as Christians, we know that during Lent we do not just prepare for Easter; we also call for repentance and conversion. It is a time when you seek the face of God, asking God to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. And not only that, it is a period where you identify with Christ’s suffering. Because during Lent, we identify with Christ’s suffering. For us as Christians, one of the most important things in Christendom is Christ’s suffering. It was the suffering of Christ that brought about redemption because He took the sin of the world. Why did He suffer? He suffered to take the sin of the world. And in that anguish, He was crucified. He died and resurrected, and His resurrection brought about victory. Because without Christ’s crucifixion, without Christ’s death, without Christ’s burial and resurrection, there would be no Christianity. There would be no Easter. So without Easter, there would be no Christianity. Because even though we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, we know that without His death and resurrection, there would not have been Christianity.

Are there any special practices associated with the Lent period?

This varies from one church to another. But the general practice is fasting, abstinence from food and other things you enjoy, just to seek the face of God. Then people gather mostly in the evening or morning, depending on the situation, because there is no rule that it must be in the evenings to conclude their prayers and fasting. As Catholics would have it, a Mass, but others would just have a prayer meeting. So people keep coming around to seek the face of God. The Anglicans will even prepare the Lenten message and share it among members. If you are not able to go to church to be part of the evening prayers, you can stay at home with your family. You just have the time to pray and look at God’s Word. It is important at this juncture for me to explain that in Christian fasting, whether during Lent or any other period, if you just refuse to eat and do not pray, you are not fasting. You are just refusing to eat food. Fasting is finding time to seek the face of God and to study the Word of God. And those things help to beautify your spirituality. But when you just refuse to eat, you have not done anything. You can decide one day you don’t want to eat. You see, when you call it a fast, a fast goes with spiritual discipline, seeking the face of God in prayer, and reading and meditating on the Word of God. That is why the period was very important to those who cared to observe it.

Why is it that some Christians observe the Lenten period while some do not?

It is because it is not a law. It is just an understanding and a practice that helps build one’s faith. In my opening remarks, I told you that other churches observe 21 days of prayer and fasting at the beginning of the year. There is no law in Scripture that says they should observe 21 days of fasting, but there is a teaching in the Bible that encourages you to fast. You see, there is one thing Jesus Christ teaches believers: do things not under compulsion, but out of your love for God and your desire to know God more deeply. So what is the idea behind fasting? It is to know God more deeply and to make it right with God. Then you are doing it the way the Bible says. But when you are just trying to keep the law by saying, “I am fasting,” while at the same time doing what you please, it is not fasting. According to Scripture, if you choose to fast but during that period you do not live a good life or do not do what is expected of you, then you are not fasting.

You are just making a mockery of the word fasting. So what fasting means to a Christian is different from what fasting means out there. You can see someone fasting, and that is the period he is exhibiting anger. At any little provocation, he is angry. In a Christian fast, you don’t do that. In Christian fasting, it is a voluntary abstinence from food or other pleasures for a specific spiritual purpose, rather than for physical health or losing weight. So if you do it that way, that is when you are fasting. When you fast, you have to, as a Christian, be sure that in your fasting, you fast to the glory of God. And when I say you fast to the glory of God, if you are fasting but angry with people, you are not fasting. If you are fasting but being selfish to people, you are not fasting. Scripture even says that when you fast, and those around you are hungry, and you cannot help them, you are not fasting. So fasting brings about total discipline, a discipline where you want to show that you really do it for God, and you want God to answer your prayers.

So would it be right to say that the history of Lent began with the fasting of Jesus Christ?

Well, it was not called Lent, but when the Church chose to observe Lent, the Church chose to observe Lent and connect it with Jesus’ prayer and fasting. But the word “Lent” was not in that context of Jesus’ fasting. But you see, as the Church keeps growing and evolving, she eventually finds a way to apply Jesus’ teaching to her own growth. And so it is wrong for a Christian pastor to say Lent started with Jesus. It was not called Lent; Jesus just prayed and fasted for 40 days. But when it became an established practice, it became an established practice in 325 AD, with what you call today Ash Wednesday, by the Council of Nicaea. They looked at the sequence of events: what happened before Jesus was crucified.

There was Jesus’ experience at the Garden of Gethsemane. There was Jesus being arrested. There was Jesus taking the cross, and that is why you hear the Catholics call it the Stations of the Cross, which not every church observes. But it does not mean that they do not believe it. They believe it, but they feel it is not necessary to be an observance. But those who observe it really want to practically experience what Jesus experienced, and then live it in their lives of prayer and fasting. So, it is like when we go to church today: we have liturgy and a Call to Worship. There was nowhere in Scripture that says in the liturgy there should be a Call to Worship. But the Bible tells us in Habakkuk 2:20 that when the Lord is in His holy temple, let the whole earth be silent before Him. So, in trying to demonstrate that the Lord is in His holy temple, we have silence. So we go to church, like other denominations, and have what we call a Call to Worship. Because at that moment, people stand up in awe and reverence, silent before the Lord, and commence their service with prayer, asking God to bless them. So, if you want to see that it is written, it was not really written like that, but when you want to see if there was a practice near it, you can see it from Scripture.

How does Lent relate to Easter and the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

Lent, as the Council established it in 325 AD, was related to Easter. Ash Wednesday, when you count it to Easter by the calendar, is 40 days, which corresponds to Jesus’ 40 days of prayer and fasting. But Jesus did not pray those 40 days towards Easter; He actually prayed the 40 days of prayer at the commencement of His ministry. I hope you understand. So in the Council’s agreement, they felt: okay, Jesus started His ministry with prayer, and He fasted 40 days and 40 nights. As we approach the period of Jesus’ crucifixion, which, if you count it from Ash Wednesday to Easter, is 40 days, it gives us an opportunity to do what Jesus did. So they called it in their term “Lent,” which actually comes from a Greek word. But the most important thing is that there is a connection to Scripture, connecting you to prayer, to seeking the face of God, and to putting your mind, your life, and your heart in the things of God. So, when people pray within that period, so many things come to mind. So people want to pray in Jesus’ state of moving towards crucifixion. So people want to pray, preparing themselves for any service that God wants to give them, as the Bible teaches. So people have many reasons to pray, but the most important thing is that they connect to Jesus’ lifestyle; there is a connection to Jesus’ teaching. But I still repeat, it was never called Lent at that time.

Before Lent starts, is there any way Christians prepare themselves to observe it?

In Christian teachings, every day of our lives is supposed to be a day we prepare ourselves for God. That is why I keep repeating that some churches prepare spiritually for entering the New Year. Some people prepare spiritually for Easter. Some people prepare spiritually before getting married. There are couples who, before they get married, dedicate either a month or a long time to praying and fasting, to be sure that the husband they want to marry is in God’s will and that their home is centred on God’s will. So every life of a Christian is supposed to be a life committed to God, committed to prayer, and sometimes to prayer and fasting. So, as Christians who practice Lent, they try to prepare themselves for the period. But you see, that is why we don’t need to wait for a particular prayer to be called for us to break Lent. Those things, you don’t see in Christian practice, but we are prepared and determined to make time with God through prayer and fasting in the season of Lent or in the season we have chosen to do it. We don’t have laws in Scripture or according to Bible teaching that say that, because an incident that happens when you break your Lent requires you to pay back with some days or give people food.

If you want to live a good Christian life, every day should be a day of caring and support. But Lent just helps you now dedicate a season, a period, to walk the path of Jesus, either in prayer and fasting, or in prayer and fasting towards His crucifixion and victory on the cross.

Why is it that some Christians will give up certain things during the period of Lent, but after Lent, you see them going back to the source?

Well, a Christian who has not genuinely encountered Jesus is a seasonal Christian, a seasonal believer who only practices faith at a season. But in Jesus’ teaching, when we give our lives to Jesus Christ, we are hidden in His hands. We are supposed to live our lives every day, whether it is Lent or no Lent, whether it is New Year or no New Year. Our lives are supposed to be patterned after Him every day. I have taught this in my church several times, and I can explain to our readers that it is not even fair for you to use God’s name to make New Year’s resolutions when you know, deep in your heart, you are not willing to abide by them. And that is why you see so many people who make resolutions that this year they want to live a good life, they want to stop this, but two days later they are back to it. The resolution was just for the day or for New Year’s night. It should not be. Your decision with Jesus, your resolution with Jesus or with God, is an everyday life thing. So the same thing applies to Lent. If your preparation for Lent is only to give up certain things just for the period, then you are not even a serious believer. You don’t even understand what it means to follow Jesus. The Bible says, if anyone will come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me. So the taking up of the cross is a daily encounter, it is a daily experience, and following Jesus is daily. It is not a Lent season, it is not a particular season; it is daily. So we don’t teach people to just abstain, live a good life, or be committed for a season of Lent, and then, when Lent is over, they go back to their old selves.

The Scripture says, they went out from us because they were not of us. If they were for us, they would have remained with us. The reason why they left is that, in the first place, they were not of us. It was a very difficult theological explanation, but also very simple to understand. If you are with God, you will remain with God. But if you are not with God, if you claim to be with God and continue the journey with God, the time will come when you will abandon Him, because you were originally not with God. So people shouldn’t do a ceremony with God. Jesus, in one of His very important teachings in John 4:24, says that the time will come when true worshippers will no longer need to go to a particular place to worship, but they will worship Him in spirit and in truth. So, worshipping God through Lent or through whatever decision you have voluntarily agreed to do should be in truth and spirit. I can connect it with when Scripture says, ” Do not make a vow and not fulfil it. You see, making a vow is not compulsion; making a vow is a matter of free will. So don’t come to God claiming you want to follow Him or claiming you want to live a good life for Him, when you have not yet made a decision to abandon Satan. You must remain with God. So what happens is that people just take certain actions or steps during Lent or during a certain period, and then after that, they go back to their old ways, because in the first place, they never genuinely did it. They wanted to glorify the eyes or to make people see them as if they generally have some experience with God, but in reality, they know deep inside them that they don’t. A man who has put his hand on the plough, according to Scripture, will not look back.

He will move on. And we saw that in the lives of many people in Scripture who resolved to follow Jesus, and despite all persecution, they never turned back. So if you have a particular decision or practice a certain lifestyle that you chose to suspend just for Lent and then go back, you still have a long way to go to understand Christ and His power of transformation. So if you are going to be open, be thoroughly and genuinely open for God to take charge of your life, so that He will be God of you yesterday, God in you today, and God in you tomorrow. Because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus will not save you yesterday and allow Satan to torment you. Even when Satan comes, Jesus will help you to overcome Satan, to show Satan that you are already with Him, that you are already in Him. But for you to think you can play around and then come back smartly, you don’t even understand God.

How can Lent truly be a time of spiritual growth and renewal, sir?

Lent can be a time of spiritual growth and renewal because there is no way you can dedicate your time and dedicate your mind to God, and God will not transform you. You see, Lent is far more than just giving up chocolate or meat. It is a sacred, intentional season of returning to the core value of truth. So you cannot have intentionally taken time with God, and God abandons you. No. No. God has never done that. Do you remember what happened when Jesus finished His 40 days and 40 nights of fasting? The Bible says that when He went to be baptised, something spectacular happened. Not only that, Satan came to tempt Him. And in the power of His experience, He could say, “Get behind Me, Satan.” So when a Christian dedicates time to seek the face of God, whether he calls it the Lent of 40 days, he cannot go back in such a weak way. So it is an experience of transformation, renewal, and power. Some churches will even just call their church members to a three-day or four-day retreat. And what do they mean by that? It is like: withdraw, come and experience God in a different way through teaching and prayer, and be empowered. I know of a denomination in Nigeria that, in their own way, may not celebrate Lent as 40 days. But when Easter is rounding off, from Easter Sunday to Easter Monday, they spend it in a retreat camp. And what are they doing? Praying and learning the Word of God and seeking the face of God. They also repeat it at Christmas. When others are busy going out for merriment, they say, “Hey, wait a minute. Let’s turn this season into a season of encountering Jesus in a special way, by coming to learn from His feet and seeking His face, and then let’s go out and see what God is going to do for us.”

How can Christians carry the spiritual growth and practices they developed during Lent into their daily life after the Lenten period?

Whomever the Son has set free is free indeed. If a Christian has chosen to seek the face of God during Lent and is set free by God, Jesus did not set him free to go and hide it. Jesus set him free to go and show the glory of God in the community. Jesus set him free to go and show the glory of God in his place of work. Jesus set him free to go and show the glory of God, whether he is in a bus. Jesus set him free to go and show his neighbours the glory of God. This is where Jesus teaches and says, you are the light of the world. You have encountered Jesus. Go out there and shine. You are the salt of the earth. You have encountered Jesus. Go out there and bring taste to where it is tasteless. You see, I have explained this to people. It is not Christlike for you to live in a community, to live with your neighbours, to live with your friends, and you refuse to show them Christian life, and only one day go and bring a flier and tell them, “Come to our church and God bless you.” You are actually disgracing the faith. Because if your neighbour is sensible, he will ask you, “Why would I go to the church of the one who doesn’t greet people? Why would I go to the crusade or to the program of the man who does not care about people?” So if you have had Jesus’ experience during Lent, what should be seen about you is a transformed life, a new life. You will even infect people with the new things that you have learned through the period. If, through the period of Lent, you learned forgiveness, please rush and go and forgive those you have refused to forgive for decades. Have you through Lent learned love? Go and love people whom you have not loved in the past years. Have you through it learned charity? Please go and show charity to people who have lived and you have never thought of helping them. Have you through it learned humility? Go and be humble in your local community or wherever you operate, so that people will see the impact of Lent in your life.

But when you are only humble during Lent, when you are only sharing gifts during Lent, when you are only forgiving people during Lent, and you say, “No, don’t worry, I am just waiting for Lent to be over, and I will come and deal with you,” you have actually destroyed everything you have ever had. So for every Christian who has spent time with God, he should go out there and show what he has learned from God. He should go out there and display what he has learned from God. Jesus wants people to see you daily, every day, showing His glory. The Bible says, “Do your good works so that people will see and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” How can people know that you have experienced God through Lent when you do not do good works? You must do something good to show you experienced God. In everyday life, there are many ways you can think of it. But if you still return to malice, you have not experienced God through Lent. If you still come back to unforgiveness, you have not experienced God through Lent. If you still come back to stinginess and selfishness, you have not experienced God through Lent. If you still come back to a lack of love, see people, don’t care, and don’t greet them, you have not experienced Jesus through Lent. If you still come home with pride and arrogance, you have not experienced Jesus through Lent. Lent teaches you about Jesus’ humanity, charity, love, forgiveness, walking with others, and helping others go and be like Him.