Give It Up for Lent

Welcome to an interview I conducted with myself.

You observe Lent at your church?

Yes, we’ve always observed Lent.

Are you Catholic or something?

No, we’re not Catholic (not that there’s anything wrong with that!).  But until the Protestant Reformation (c. 1650A.D.), the practice of observing Lent was nearly universal.  And even after the Reformation, many Protestant traditions, including Lutherans, Methodists and Anglicans continued to observe the 40 days leading up to Easter as a special time of engaging in spiritual discipline and abstinence.  So, we figure that if it’s been observed by the vast majority of Christians in the history of the church, it’s something that we ought to explore.

So, what’s with the black smudge on my coworker’s face?

In ancient cultures, the application of ashes to one’s head was a sign of deep remorse and repentance.  (You can look at Job 2, if you want an example.) So, we receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday as an outward expression of our inner brokenness before God.

But, we’ve been forgiven, we aren’t supposed to wallow in our guilt and shame.

Agreed.  But oftentimes, I move so quickly to claim grace that I move right past the place where I feel deep remorse and recognize not just my need for grace, but my need for redemption – for God to change me deep within, because, truth be told, deep inside, I am not okay.  Ash Wednesday serves as a reminder of how thirsty for God I really am.

So, what’s with the business of giving something up for Lent?  What’s that all about?

Well, traditionally, Christians have chosen to give up some pleasure as a way of disciplining themselves in the battle to shed off the old nature and put on the new.  (If you’re interested, this language of “old” and “new” comes from Ephesians 4:20-24.)  It’s like training for a marathon.  You don’t train for a marathon by going out and running 26 miles.  You train a shorter, more managable distances.  The same is true of abstaining from pleasures at Lent.  If I can give up Amazon.com and iTunes during Lent, then maybe I have a better chance at overcoming my addiction to things.

So, is that it – Ash Wednesday and giving something up?

It sure can be.  There’s no pressure at our church to do anything, I hope.  However, there will be some of us, who, on top of abstaining, will choose to fast one day a week – Wednesday’s in fact, and then to break fast together with a simple meal and prayer.

What’s the point in that?

The point of fasting, at least as I understand it, is to align my body with the posture of my soul.  So, as we move closer and closer to the cross, and I give up things and focus more on Jesus, and recognize my need, I fast, to align my body with what’s going on inside of me.

Is that it?

Sure.  Until we get to Holy Week.  But that’s for a later time.