Forty days. There were forty days of rain. Forty years of wandering, from slavery to freedom. Forty days on a mountain with God. Spying out the land for forty days resulted in a mixed report and the redemption of a gentile woman. Goliath taunted the people of God for forty days, before God said "enough". Elijah fasted and walked for forty days. Jesus fasted for forty days and endured the temptations of Satan himself.
...There are forty days from the Resurrection to the Ascension of the Messiah. And there are lots and lots more forties. I notice some themes...chastisement, and judgement, but maybe arching over them all...Preparation. Hope and Becoming, all intermingled in a divine preparation. Before the goodbyes to the old, and the arrival of the new, there is forty.
And so,
Forty days we prepare for Easter - a triumphant farewell to sin and separation and death. And the beginning of forgiveness, reunion, life, and eternity. "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5
(As a way to prepare our hearts, we are lighting a candle each day, and every few days reading through the Scriptures in this booklet, called The Trail to the Tree. There are only about 20 days of readings, so it's not an everyday thing, and this is the first year we've really done anything for Easter, so perhaps I will find some resources to do more next year. I purchased this from The Keeping Company for advent, but it had an extension for Easter, and we're making good use of it!)
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