I started writing something about Ash Wednesday. I remembered reading something on the Scriptorium Daily a while ago, so I found it, and it says all I struggled to say.
Today is Ash Wednesday, 2009, and I thought it would be good to reflect a bit on the meaning of Lent.
It seems to me that while Easter has escaped a lot of the ravages of Christmas (yes there are Easter eggs and bunny rabbits, just as there are Santa and reindeer during Christmastime, but Easter has largely remained unscathed from consumerism and greed), it seems that Lent has suffered more than Advent.
Advent is usually quite beautiful as we light candles and prepare our hearts in anticipation of the birth of the Messiah. Lent, however, becomes more of an exercise in giving up things (what we can do) and less in looking forward to the death and resurrection of Christ (what Jesus can do). In true Dantean fashion, let me break this down into six fallacies (one less than a number of perfection, which symbolizes shortcoming):
First fallacy of Lent: fasting is just an excuse to splurge at the end.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people give up chocolate or coffee or some other food vice, only to completely gorge themselves on what they’ve been deprived of for 46 days come Easter Sunday. Is that what Easter is meant for, a debauchery fest? What a way to celebrate Christ’s resurrection!Second fallacy of Lent: fasting is just an excuse to splurge at the beginning.
Many people think it’s OK to indulge their sins right before their time of deprivation/Lent. This is how Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and Carnaval/Karneval in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Cologne (Germany) got their origins. But this is like men who are about to get married who think that it’s OK to go to a strip club or hire a prostitute at their bachelor party because it’s their “last chance at freedom.†It completely ruins the spirit of discipline if this is how you begin! This is based on their false thinking that debauchery is a joy while discipline is drudgery. If marriage is drudgery and a restriction of their freedom to have sex with whoever they want, why even bother marrying? And similarly, if Lent is drudgery, why do it?Third fallacy of Lent: fasting is an excuse to show off.
If you’re going to fast, don’t go around bragging about it! (This includes nonverbal signs exhibiting your suffering, hoping that somebody will ask you what’s wrong). If you do that, truly you have received your reward in full. This is not to say you can’t tell people what you’re fasting from (if you give up something that interferes with your ability to function normally in society but don’t explain it to people, it might attract unnecessary attention to yourself rather than helping people understand what you’re trying to do). I think the principle is not that you can’t tell anybody, but you shouldn’t let it draw attention toward yourself, and instead let it point toward Christ.Fourth fallacy of Lent: fasting is suffering.
C’mon, do you really think giving up Nintendo Playstation is equivalent to Christ’s Passion? Not even close! I think we trivialize what Christ went through if we think our petty sufferings are anywhere near what he experienced. That being said, we shouldn’t not fast, but rather let every reminder of what you’re giving up emphasize the greater reality of what Christ did (much as the simple bread & wine are but dim reflections of Christ’s broken body & shed blood).Fifth fallacy of Lent: think about all the benefits I get from fasting.
Yes, you may lose calories by not eating your favorite junk food, or even on a spiritual level it may help you to be more disciplined in prayer, but that’s not the end goal. Though the benefits may be good psychological assistance along the way to help you stay on track, secondary benefits pale in comparison with the ultimate end of Easter. Let not the minor obscure the major.Sixth fallacy of Lent: fasting is the point of Lent.
No it isn’t! Fasting is a sign that points to the goal, which is identification with the crucified and risen Christ. If you fast but don’t have that as your goal, it is merely a human-centered activity. It is not the giving up of a thing itself that sanctifies you, the sanctification comes from the One who is infinitely greater than any troubles than you can possibly go through. Each time we remember what we give up, it should cause us not to think about ourselves (e.g. “Oh, I’m so hungryâ€) but remind us to set our faces toward the Risen Savior.Here’s a tip: it’s fine to give something (or more than one thing) up for Lent, but instead of thinking about Lent as negation, think about it as a positive. Not what you can abstain from, but what opportunities abound for you with your extra time/money/attention! With your extra time, focus more on prayer and service, for one. With your extra money, give more to church or the needy, for two. And all this should flow not from your own strength but from an overflow of what the Lord has done for you. Be practical, rather than just theoretical, with your Lenten journey. Need a suggestion? My Bible study group is doing this, which I think rocks.
