Where did this practice come from? Why do some Christians do it now? Is this something God wants me to be doing, and if so, how do I go about it?
From my Google searching...
- A brief Catholic-minded history of Lent can be found here: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0527.html
- Summary of present practices: "The present fasting and abstinence laws are very simple: On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the faithful fast (having only one full meal a day and smaller snacks to keep up one’s strength) and abstain from meat; on the other Fridays of Lent, the faithful abstain from meat. People are still encouraged "to give up something" for Lent as a sacrifice."
- Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations
I really don't think that God intended for the Bible to be a list of rules about how to behave righteously: "You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to Me! Yet you refuse to come to Me so that I can give you this eternal life" (John 5:29-40 NLT)..... "Abide in Me... for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 16:4-5).
Thoughts anyone? Do you give up something for Lent? Why (tradition vs actually feeling God's call to do it)?
I really do not mean to come across as judging anyone who is giving up something for Lent; I fully acknowledge that I could be off on the wrong track... I'd really appreciate if you would take the time to share your insights ;)
3 comments:
Really good post Heather, good points. Focus on Jesus, not Lent. It is all because of Him (Easter) not what we can do to impress HIM. Hallelujah! Good to see too much learning only mades you temporarily mad - at times... = )
I look forward to chatting with you about this. In the meantime (and because I will probably forget when I talk to you), let me recommend an excellent book: The Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster. It's a modern classic, right up there with CS Lewis's works. Yes, more reading!
-Steven
Thanks for this - I think it's important to consider why we do things like this as Christians. I still remember a sermon at St. G's from this time last year where the rector spoke about the two patron saints of Lent: Gus ("Give up something") and Tom ("Take on more").
Christian faith is a network of interlocking paradoxes, and you're touching on one of the biggies: salvation by faith vs. salvation by works. In general, Protestants take their cue from Luther in proclaiming salvation by faith alone (and from Paul, cf. Romans 5:1) - and this leads to a certain distaste for disciplines such as fasting, giving up things for Lent, etc. If they were real Christians, they wouldn't need such trappings!
Yes, but, but, but, but. The book of Common Prayer describes God as "the author of peace and lover of concord . . . whose service is perfect freedom" (italics added). And so when we voluntarily accept a burden during penitential times of the year to bring us closer to God, we discover that what we lose is transformed into a greater freedom. And the "outward trappings" of Lenten discipline, far from being legalistic replacements for inner devotion, both reflect that devotion and help to encourage it. They signify nothing in themselves, except that they point our way towards the Signified.
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