Kathryn A. Frazier
Your Story. Your voice. the best it can be.
Purim? Lent? Must we choose?
Costumes, dancing and feasting and giving food gifts. Purim is a joyous celebration of deliverance and survival, as recorded in the Biblical book of Esther. Purim is an absolute blast!
The only problem is, Purim almost always falls during the Lenten season. Purim’s jovial mood doesn’t fit so well with the solemn via dolorosa (“the way of grief”) that Jesus walked toward crucifixion, which many Christians observe in the days leading up to Easter Sunday. Must we choose one tradition over the other?
Purim celebrates when God made a way for the Jews to be delivered from genocide through the bravery of Esther. Lent recalls the Crucifixion, when God made a way for us all to be delivered from spiritual death through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Neither celebration is commanded in Scripture. You don’t have to acknowledge either one. But neither one is forbidden, either. And neither contradicts the other. Since I’m an any-excuse-for-a-party kind of gal, I say, why not have both? Why not take the occasion of Lent to seriously consider the life and sacrifice of Jesus, and also take a night off to rejoice? Both celebrations, really, are a time for rejoicing!
One of the most important things on Jesus’s mind–the thing he prayed for just moments before his arrest and crucifixion–was unity among believers. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to the Father on behalf of all who believed in him, and all who would believe in him in the future (including us!).
Jesus prayed, “I have given them the glory that you [the Father] gave me, that they [believers] may be one as we are one— I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (From the gospel of John, chapter 17, verses 22-23, NIV. I added the words in brackets and the bold letters for emphasis).
During this Holy Season, I choose to remember the whole Word of God. All of it. And I will rejoice without apology with anyone who wants to join me–costume and all. If you choose only Lent or only Purim, or neither one, I hope you will still stand together with me, as I will with you, in complete unity.
For more information on celebrating Purim, including a recipe for traditional Purim cookies, see the post, Celebrating Purim includes these 4 things.
For a look at the doctrine of drunkenness on Purim, check out Levity: It’s not just for Levites on Purim.
For a Jewish Catholic point of view on this subject, I recommend, Purim and Lent: Haman Hung, Christ Crucified
For a Messianic look at Purim, including its prophetic significance, I highly recommend Purim: Feast of Lots from Hebrew4Christians.com
What about you? What are your plans for either Lent or Purim? Or neither? Or both? How do you express your faith during this season?
Hugs to you all,
Kathy
Leave a Tip
Thank you for your continued support! Every dollar donated helps keep this site ad-free and allows me to spend more time writing, helping other writers, and providing free content.
$1.00
Kathryn A. Frazier 