"What are you
giving up for Lent?” We have all been
asked this question in the last week, and we have reciprocated and asked it
right back. It is engrained in us. We are, after all, called to the observance
of a holy Lent by “fasting and repentance,” according to our Book of Common
Prayer. It is simply understood that we
give something up.
But think about the
things that we normally give up. Chocolate. Coffee.
Facebook. We give these things up
because they are habits, and it’s the habits that we are meant to give up
during this season. But how exactly does
giving up any of these things bring us in closer relationship to God and our
neighbor? Does not eating chocolate or
not drinking coffee really help steer us in the right direction? Facebook, some argue, has ruined our
one-on-one communication skill, so many give it up. However, I wonder what would happen if,
rather than cut ourselves off from our friends on Facebook, we rethink how we
are using it, and post a Scripture reading each day during Lent or use the
social media tool as a form for evangelism.
You see, God calls
us into a different cast of fasting this season. It is not so much a fasting from certain
kinds of food, or even from certain habits that we feel are getting too much of
our attention. The point this season is
not to punish ourselves, rather it is to redirect our hearts and minds and be
better tuned in to who it is God is calling us to be.
Look at the prophet
Isaiah, who in chapter 58 condemns his audience for “afflicting themselves” and
“bowing their heads” through strict fasting and formal prayers. Though the people do these things, Isaiah
says, their hearts and minds are not fixed on God. While they fast and pray, people around them
starve. While they fast and pray, people
go without clothing and a place to lay their heads. But Isaiah’s audience is too busy following
the rules and being pious to pay any attention to the needs of those around
them. In truth, by focusing so heavily
on what they think they ought to be
doing, Isaiah’s audience has neglected God’s true intentions for them.
Richard Rohr, in
his book of Lenten meditations entitled Wondrous
Encounters, suggests that the real fast that God wants is a fast that does
not deny the body, but instead denies injustice. Non-aggression, sharing our bread, clothing
the naked, and letting go of our sense of entitlement, these are, according to
Rohr, what we should be practicing.
These are the real fasts!
Perhaps what God is
calling us to let go of this Lent is not a certain food or drink. Perhaps it is not something that is clearly
evident. Perhaps God is calling us to a
greater fast, a fast that is life-giving.
This fast denies our self-centered natures and is focused on our
neighbor (and, according to Jesus, when we focus on the needs of our neighbor,
we are focusing on Jesus Himself). The
journey of Lent is about being transformed into a new person in Christ, the
person God is calling us to be. Giving
up chocolate or Facebook isn’t going to do it.
But giving up intolerance, self-pity, and anxiousness will.
So as we continue
our journey through the wilderness of Lent, let us listen to Isaiah, who calls
us to a new kind of fast. Let us heed
Jesus’ words that he desires mercy, not sacrifice. And let us in our own prayers open ourselves
to the new realities God is laying before us.
