From sackcloth to society: Rethinking lent and civic responsibility today

By Rev’d Fiifi AFENYI-DONKOR

On 18th February 2026, Historic Mission Churches, including The Methodist Church Ghana, marked Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season. Through the imposition of ashes and the solemn reminder, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” the Church calls attention to human mortality and the saving work of Christ.

Yet, beyond its deeply personal significance, Lent carries broader implications. It is not only a season of private devotion but a call to renewed living in the public sphere. The disciplines of Lent (penitence, fasting, and almsgiving) challenge Christians to embody their faith not just inwardly, but in ways that shape society, influence conduct, and contribute to the common good.

What is Lent

Lent is the forty-day period before Easter, marked by penitence, fasting, and almsgiving. Rooted in biblical tradition and the early Church, it prepares Christians to reflect on Christ’s crucifixion and celebrate His resurrection.

The season mirrors Jesus’ forty days of fasting and prayer in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13), a journey that itself recalls Israel’s forty years of testing in the wilderness, where God formed a people dependent on His provision (Deuteronomy 8:2–3). Scripture consistently calls believers to these disciplines, and Jesus Himself teaches that fasting should be practiced with sincerity, humility, and devotion (Matthew 6:16–18), shaping the heart rather than merely fulfilling ritual.

Historically, Lent developed as a time of spiritual purification and preparation for baptism. In the early Church, it also served as a period of catechesis, during which candidates were instructed in the faith ahead of their initiation at Easter. Today, Lent remains a call to renewal, inviting believers not only to personal transformation but also to live out their faith in ways that influence society and promote the common good.

A City’s Repentance

The story of Jonah presents Nineveh as an unlikely recipient of God’s mercy, a city marked by violence and corruption, yet called to repentance through a forty-day warning that parallels the Lenten season. Despite Jonah’s resistance, rooted in his awareness of God’s boundless compassion, Nineveh responds with deep, visible, and collective repentance, showing that true transformation is both personal and communal. While faithful Christians may discern the shape of their civic engagement differently, Lent nonetheless summons all believers to a faith that refuses to remain confined to the private sphere.

Yet we must distinguish Nineveh’s forty days from the character of Lent itself. Nineveh’s repentance was born of imminent judgment, a summons to avert disaster. Lent, by contrast, unfolds in the shadow of the cross but in the light of the resurrection. The ashes of Ash Wednesday are not merely a reminder that we are dust but a pledge that from this dust God will bring forth new life. Lenten disciplines, therefore, are not frantic attempts to earn divine favour but confident practices of those who trust in the God who raises the dead.

This reframes repentance itself. Nineveh’s turning was genuine yet shaped by the terror of judgment. Lenten repentance, shaped by Easter hope, flows from gratitude for grace already given in Christ. As Paul writes, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). We turn from sin not only because sin brings destruction but because sin is unworthy of the resurrection life we have been promised.

Nevertheless, the corporate character of Nineveh’s response remains vital. Its repentance embraced leaders and citizens alike, demonstrating that meaningful change involves every level of society. The Church is not merely the herald of this call; it is also the community within which believers are formed, sustained, and equipped for the costly work of public faithfulness.

Yet such witness requires constant discernment, for the Church’s voice is most prophetic when it serves the kingdom of God rather than being captured by partisan interests. For Ghana, this calls for a similar collective turning, leaders embracing accountability, institutions reforming practices, communities addressing injustice, and individuals acknowledging their role in societal challenges.

Penitence Beyond the Pew

Jonah 3:8 declares: “Let everyone turn from their evil ways and from the violence in their hands.” Repentance, as modelled by Nineveh, is both personal and public. It challenges individuals to reflect on how their actions affect others and to confront injustice wherever it appears. In the Lenten context, penitence should move beyond private devotion to civic accountability.

In Ghana today, what does it mean to turn from “the violence in our hands”? For some, this may be literal violence, the unrest that occasionally erupts during elections, the vigilantism that has marred our political landscape, or the physical harm inflicted in land and chieftaincy disputes.

For others, the violence is more systemic: the acceptance of corruption that steals from the public purse and deepens poverty; the exploitation of workers denied fair wages; or the destruction of our environment through illegal mining operations known as galamsey, which poison our water bodies and ravage our farmlands. True penitence reshapes both personal conduct and social responsibility, reflecting God’s justice in the world.

Fasting that Feeds

In Nineveh, fasting disrupted normal life and created space for communal reflection and moral reorientation (Jonah 3:5–6). Similarly, Lenten fasting is not just a personal exercise; it develops empathy and fosters solidarity with those who experience deprivation involuntarily. Fasting that remains inward-focused risks being ritualistic rather than transformative. True Lenten fasting opens the heart to the needs of others and strengthens ethical awareness.

Consider what fasting might mean in Ghana today. When we voluntarily abstain from food, we are reminded of the growing number of our compatriots for whom food insecurity is not a spiritual discipline but a daily reality.

As inflation erodes purchasing power and economic hardships deepen, many Ghanaian families struggle to put one meal on the table, let alone three. Lenten fasting can become an exercise in solidarity when it moves us to act, when the money saved from meals is directed toward feeding programs in our communities, or when our experience of hunger sensitizes us to advocate for economic policies that prioritize the vulnerable over the powerful.

Almsgiving or Justice?

Nineveh’s repentance implied more than restraint; it called for restoration and right living. In Lent, almsgiving should similarly go beyond charity, becoming a tangible commitment to justice and societal wellbeing. When practiced intentionally, almsgiving expresses solidarity with the vulnerable and contributes to social structures that uphold equity and justice.

In the Ghanaian context, this demands that we move beyond occasional charity to sustained engagement with structural issues. For instance:

• Almsgiving as justice might mean supporting not only the orphanage but also advocating for stronger child protection policies and foster care systems.
• It might mean contributing to educational scholarships while also demanding accountability in the management of the Free Senior High School policy, ensuring that resources truly reach the students who need them.
• It might mean providing relief to communities affected by galamsey while also lending our voices to calls for environmental restoration and sustainable mining practices that hold perpetrators accountable, regardless of their political connections.

The early church understood that almsgiving was not merely a charitable transaction but a participation in God’s justice. As John the Baptist proclaimed to those who came to him: “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11). In a nation where stark inequality exists alongside ostentatious displays of wealth, Lent calls us to examine whether our giving merely comforts our consciences or whether it actively challenges the structures that keep others in need.

The Challenge of Public Faith

If repentance lays the theological foundation, then public faith builds upon it. Lent calls Christians to express their faith through ethical leadership, community service, and the pursuit of justice, holding leaders accountable, supporting the vulnerable, and confronting systemic injustice.

Although living out such public faith can be difficult, especially in the face of corruption and powerful interests, visible ethical action strengthens both personal devotion and social transformation. Lent, therefore, is not merely private spirituality but a call to align inner renewal with public responsibility, allowing faith to shape both conscience and community.

Conclusion

The story of Jonah shows that God responds not to ritual alone, but to genuine transformation of life. In the same way, Lent calls for both personal and societal renewal, where penitence leads to responsibility, fasting to solidarity, and almsgiving to justice.

A purely private Lent is insufficient; true observance must shape society, influencing communities, institutions, and national life. For Ghana, facing pressing social and economic challenges, this call to public faith is especially urgent. Lent ultimately demands a movement from reflection to action, so that faith not only nurtures personal devotion but also contributes to the transformation of society. Without this, Lent is observed but not truly understood.

The writer is an Ordained Minister of The Methodist Church Ghana writing on theology, ethics and civic responsibility

Post Views: 30