This past Wednesday marked the day when the Church enters into a time of fasting in the weeks leading up to the Resurrection. It’s a day when we are to look back on the frailty and the brevity of our lives and (essentially) be crushed under that weight. It’s is also a day of hope. For we know that while we begin our fasting – our identification with Christ in his suffering – we look forward to something greater than our pain: his resurrection. The point of fasting (or abstinence) is not that we give something up only to immediately begin looking forward to taking it up again after Lent. No. The point is that we give language to what we feel in our souls by giving something up, and we look to our purpose and hope in the fact that the One we worship died, but he didn’t stay that way. He was resurrected.
I just want to give a few reflections and helpful reminders for any who are entering Lent:
1. Whatever you fast from or whatever you give up, make sure that it is more than an attempt to “wash the outside of the cup.” Seek to replace your habits with holiness.
2. Embrace the difficulty, pain and suffering that the act brings. Allow that to give voice to what you feel in your soul. Long for Christ’s resurrection, so that when we get to Resurrection Sunday, the stone will be rolled away from your heart as well.
3. Don’t focus on how long but what. That is, don’t continue to think about how many days/weeks you’ve fasted. Instead, think about what the Lord is accomplishing in your heart doing this time. Look for opportunities not to say “I have fasted for 3 weeks,” but say “I have been reconciled to my brother and sister.”
4. Keep hope ever before you. HOPE. HOPE. HOPE. There is always hope. It’s not just about suffering. It’s not just about giving something up because we feel bad that we’ve got “too much stuff.” There have always been distraction that keep us from true worship, so we’re not just talking about giving it up, just to give something up. Always remember, we give things up in response to sacred moments (grief, sin, desire for repentance, etc.). We give those things up in response to these situations, because we believe that things can change. I can give up food to give voice to my soul, because I believ – I have hope – that it will be heard. Keep the hope of the resurrection ever before you.
Keep your eyes open and check back Sunday for part 1 of our Lent series.
Peace.
Good word bro.