‘We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves. Even while you fast, you keep oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like reeds bending in the wind. You dress in burlap and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord?” [Isaiah 58:3-5 (NLT)]
Every evening, a man went to the local pub and ordered three beers. When asked why three, he explained that he ordered the two extra beers in honor of his two dear brothers who lived far away. One evening, when the man ordered only two beers, the bartender assumed the worst and extended sympathy for the loss of a brother. Correcting the bartender, the man said his brothers were both fit as fiddles and the beers were for them. “It’s me that’s not drinking tonight,” he explained. “You see, I’ve given up beer for Lent!”
Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a period of forty days (not counting Sundays) that commemorate Jesus’ forty days of fasting and temptation in the desert. Originally, Lent was a time of fasting, penitence, and reflection in preparation for an Easter baptism. Today, many people continue to observe this tradition with some sort of fast or spiritual discipline before Easter. While they tend to “give up” something in the way of food, entertainment, or pleasure, the most common fasts usually have to do with desserts, alcohol, chocolate, social media, television, or coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin’. Since Lent’s observation isn’t founded in Scripture, the choice to observe this season in some way is a personal one.
What we must never do is err in thinking that God will love us more for our Lenten sacrifice or that giving up something like gum, candy, beer, eating out, or YouTube has any bearing on our salvation. Jesus took care of our salvation on the cross and God’s love could never be greater than it is right now. No amount of sacrifice can earn God’s free gift of grace.
If we do choose to give up something for Lent, we make a mistake if we focus only on our sacrifice. After all, fasting from carbs or alcohol without prayer and Scripture are nothing more than a diet or “dry January.” Rather than focusing on ourselves, Lent is a time to focus on Christ and the sacrifice He made to give us the gift of salvation.
Although Jesus fasted, He never commanded us to do so. His words on fasting tend to focus on people’s hypocrisy when fasting—they often fasted to impress people with their holiness rather than grow closer to God. Self-sacrifice is not to be done ostentatiously but humbly, quietly, and privately. Regardless of how we choose to observe Lent, unlike the man at the bar, it should be done sincerely. God sees into our hearts and knows when we’re repentant and genuinely seeking Him or just going through the motions!
The purpose of Lent is not to force on us a few formal obligations, but to ‘soften’ our heart so it may open itself to the realities of the spirit, to experience the hidden ‘thirst and hunger’ for communion with God. [Alexander Schmemann]
The tradition of New Year’s resolutions goes back over 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians (whose new year began in mid-March with the spring equinox). During their 12-day celebration called Akitu, they either crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the old one. To ensure the gods’ favor, they promised to return borrowed items and pledged the repayment of all their debts.
It was a web day at the park and I don’t mean the world-wide kind. It was one of those days when the morning dew, mist, and light cooperated in such a way that we saw beautiful intricate spider webs hanging everywhere. Looking as if they were made of strands of silver rather than proteinaceous silk extruded from a spider’s spinnerets, it seemed like the spiders had decorated all the trees in celebration of Christmas.
For those of us who attend liturgical churches, yesterday was the last Sunday of the liturgical (or church) year: Christ the King Sunday. A kind of liturgical “New Year’s Eve,” it is the climax and conclusion of the Church’s year.
God took Heaven’s best—the Lord Jesus Christ—to redeem earth’s worst! [Billy Graham]
Just finishing its 5th season, the Food Network’s “Outrageous Pumpkins” features remarkable pumpkin artistry. This year’s competition matched up 14 of the nation’s best carvers into teams and challenged them to create over-the-top pumpkin creations. The pumpkin artists created horrific nightmares, constructed grisly crime scenes, and fashioned monstrous mechanical battling beasts. Using everything from melon ballers to huge saws, they they sculpted extraordinary and intricate ghouls, witches, wizards, goblins, werewolves, and monsters. As someone who is severely pumpkin-challenged (and eventually purchased a permanent Jack O-Lantern complete with an electric light), I’m amazed by the skill of these artists.
Devotions of the Heart 