- Jan 30, 2013
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Do you notice that so many people observe Lent as just a blindly devotional activity and not even a spiritual one? It seems that most people I know in my life who observe it, even people who I think are otherwise actual Christians, only observe Lent as though it's a duty, as though the abstinence from foods and activities is in itself a magical power that does something for them spiritually.
From what I see in the people in my life, from close friends and family to acquaintances, is that they are very legalistic about it. They will abstain from meat on Fridays (that's the biggie) but they will continue to live an unexamined life and repeat their sins and repeat their habits and make no improvements in serving God. I feel like they might as well not even bother.
I found a good example on one of my Church's websites (but I think this applies to ALL Christians of any traditional Church):
http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net/feasts/lent/meaning-of-lent/
"Jesus' advice as recorded in Matthew's gospel brings to mind a novel by the Russian writer Anton Chekov, which relates how two thieves attack and kill a street beggar and proceed to tear his garments to distribute amongst themselves. In one of the inner pockets of the suit, one thief finds a piece of bacon. He proceeds to have his first bite, when the other thief, suddenly angered, says, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Today is Friday, a day of fasting!" His friend looks at him in astonishment, but stops eating the bacon, and the two leave the forest without breaking their fast.
The story points out, in a comic way, that fasting by itself has no meaning if you are disobedient or (like the thieves) committing crimes. Fasting during Lent needs to be done in the context of deep reflection on the truth about ourselves, in a spirit of unusual sincerity and honesty. Fasting is, in fact, a companion to prayer: one more way we speak to God from the heart."
The purpose of the fasting/abstaining in Lent is to REPLACE what you are abstaining from with something that EDIFIES you. What's interesting to me is the lengths people go to in order to "observe Lent" but get around it on a technicality. For example, they won't eat meat but will eat fish instead or a portobello mushroom or a fake burger or hot dog (like a veggie version made of tofu or beans). I think they're missing the point. It's not supposed to be a game of "how to I satisfy myself without this particular item"; it's supposed to be a way to increase self-edification and spiritual growth. I have friends who give up alcohol for Lent but then they still go out to the bars and listen to bands or dance or watch the game and they drink non-alcoholic drinks that they enjoy. Why? What's the point in that? You're doing the same things you did before, all you did was cut out an ingredient and you didn't use your deprivation of that ingredient as a way to spur your spiritual growth, you just "worked around it".
So why do people bother observing Lent when the sacrifices they make are something they just find a "work-around" for?
"Oh, I'm not having meat so I'll have lobster - it's FISH, not meat!"
"Oh, I'm not having alcohol so I'll have a delicious milkshake - ahhh, that satisifed me as much or more than a cocktail!"
"I gave up TV for Lent, so I'm just going to watch videos and movies on my computer - hey, this Lent stuff isn't so hard!!!"
What's the point?
Another good insight from one of my Church's websites, again I think it applies in a broad sense to ALL Christians of all traditional denominations who observe Lent:
"To live the Medz Bahk (LENT) mindfully means the following:
1. To make prayer, both alone and collectively, the axis of our lives
....
2. To observe abstinence, in the sense of self-denial. Abstinence, which is essentially a religious, moral, and spiritual concept, cannot be comprehended as something to do with foods or eating. Its origin or presence in church life cannot be explained by concerns about nutrition.
In its correct and profound meaning, abstinence is an act in which man leads himself willingly into denying himself sensual and material pleasures, and lavishness.
Just as physicians sometimes prescribe restrictions on certain foods and physical activity in order to enable the restoration of physical health, so too, spiritual doctors, that is, the heads of the church, vartabeds, prescribe abstinence so that the faithful will be able, through prayer and self-denial, to restore spiritual health.
3. To perform good works by offering services ....."
http://www.armeniancross.com/TheChurch/ReligiousHistory/Fasting.html
From what I see in the people in my life, from close friends and family to acquaintances, is that they are very legalistic about it. They will abstain from meat on Fridays (that's the biggie) but they will continue to live an unexamined life and repeat their sins and repeat their habits and make no improvements in serving God. I feel like they might as well not even bother.
I found a good example on one of my Church's websites (but I think this applies to ALL Christians of any traditional Church):
http://www.armenianchurch-ed.net/feasts/lent/meaning-of-lent/
"Jesus' advice as recorded in Matthew's gospel brings to mind a novel by the Russian writer Anton Chekov, which relates how two thieves attack and kill a street beggar and proceed to tear his garments to distribute amongst themselves. In one of the inner pockets of the suit, one thief finds a piece of bacon. He proceeds to have his first bite, when the other thief, suddenly angered, says, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? Today is Friday, a day of fasting!" His friend looks at him in astonishment, but stops eating the bacon, and the two leave the forest without breaking their fast.
The story points out, in a comic way, that fasting by itself has no meaning if you are disobedient or (like the thieves) committing crimes. Fasting during Lent needs to be done in the context of deep reflection on the truth about ourselves, in a spirit of unusual sincerity and honesty. Fasting is, in fact, a companion to prayer: one more way we speak to God from the heart."
The purpose of the fasting/abstaining in Lent is to REPLACE what you are abstaining from with something that EDIFIES you. What's interesting to me is the lengths people go to in order to "observe Lent" but get around it on a technicality. For example, they won't eat meat but will eat fish instead or a portobello mushroom or a fake burger or hot dog (like a veggie version made of tofu or beans). I think they're missing the point. It's not supposed to be a game of "how to I satisfy myself without this particular item"; it's supposed to be a way to increase self-edification and spiritual growth. I have friends who give up alcohol for Lent but then they still go out to the bars and listen to bands or dance or watch the game and they drink non-alcoholic drinks that they enjoy. Why? What's the point in that? You're doing the same things you did before, all you did was cut out an ingredient and you didn't use your deprivation of that ingredient as a way to spur your spiritual growth, you just "worked around it".
So why do people bother observing Lent when the sacrifices they make are something they just find a "work-around" for?
"Oh, I'm not having meat so I'll have lobster - it's FISH, not meat!"
"Oh, I'm not having alcohol so I'll have a delicious milkshake - ahhh, that satisifed me as much or more than a cocktail!"
"I gave up TV for Lent, so I'm just going to watch videos and movies on my computer - hey, this Lent stuff isn't so hard!!!"
What's the point?
Another good insight from one of my Church's websites, again I think it applies in a broad sense to ALL Christians of all traditional denominations who observe Lent:
"To live the Medz Bahk (LENT) mindfully means the following:
1. To make prayer, both alone and collectively, the axis of our lives
....
2. To observe abstinence, in the sense of self-denial. Abstinence, which is essentially a religious, moral, and spiritual concept, cannot be comprehended as something to do with foods or eating. Its origin or presence in church life cannot be explained by concerns about nutrition.
In its correct and profound meaning, abstinence is an act in which man leads himself willingly into denying himself sensual and material pleasures, and lavishness.
Just as physicians sometimes prescribe restrictions on certain foods and physical activity in order to enable the restoration of physical health, so too, spiritual doctors, that is, the heads of the church, vartabeds, prescribe abstinence so that the faithful will be able, through prayer and self-denial, to restore spiritual health.
3. To perform good works by offering services ....."
http://www.armeniancross.com/TheChurch/ReligiousHistory/Fasting.html
