But what does Lent actually mean? The word, that is?
It's derived from an Old English word, lencten, meaning spring. The season, not the coiled-up metal thing (which...probably didn't even exist when the word came into existence).
Given when Lent occurs, it's perhaps not the most imaginative thing the season could've been named...but that doesn't make it meaningless, does it?
After all, Lent is the journey to Easter, and what is Easter but the celebration of life's triumph over death?
What is the spring but the returning of life after the frozen 'death' of winter?
Christ rose from the grave, after sacrificing himself; in doing so he granted us all salvation, ensuring that we also would not be contained by the graves that will one day hold our physical bodies.
Christ rose, just as flowers and trees bloom as the frost retreats, just as warmth returns after months of cold.
And yeah, winter comes again every year - but so does spring. So does Lent.
In a way, Christ dies every year. And every year he rises.
And every year, we join him, as best we can, on his way to the cross, that we might learn from him as we go.
That we might rise with him, come Easter.
So no, it's perhaps not the most creative thing they could've named Lent. But it is appropriate, and a reminder of why we have this season, of why we are honoring the journey that Jesus made to the cross.
And that's just a bit more important than getting creative with the name.
