A Lenten Sabbath
February 13, 2005
Lent. I never grew up doing much for Lent; didn’t really know what it was actually. I didn’t really even have any Catholic friends, so it has been a relatively new experience for me. Preparation. Seeking. Stirring. Despair. The ashes. The mourning, and finally….the rejoicing as we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and defeat of the death that we thought maybe really DID have some sting…but we see Christ’s victory, and are given hope.
Why do we give things up? What is the history behind that? To experience some of Christ’s Passion? But how does giving up chocolate bring us closer to experiencing that…? It seems so trivial. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to come close to experiencing a piece of what Christ went through. But it does as more of a reminder. “Oh…he’s eating chocolate, I’d LOVE to have a Hersheys bar right now…but…okay, WHY am I doing this?? I want to focus on Christ, to focus on the events, the meanings and the emotions that are leading up to this period of rejoicing…” It serves more as a reminder to pray, to meditate and to bring our focus back on Christ. What am I missing from this reading of Lent?
Last year I tried to go through Tickle’s book “Eastertide” with Jen and a few others, but I kept skipping days and it just didn’t work (sorry Jen). This year I didn’t really know what to do, until I was having lunch with friends yesterday and one of my friends said she was going to take a real Sabbath during Lent. So from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, she wasn’t going to do any homework. She could still do “work” but just nothing related to school. Hearing her talk about this, and then realizing all of the stuff that could be done by taking a full day off from school-related work got me kind of excited. I generally feel guilty on Saturdays for not getting enough done, and this would get rid of some of that guilt. I could spend time playing my guitar (which I rarely do anymore), calling friends who I never get a chance to talk with anymore, worshipping, journaling, reading for fun, spending time with friends around here…
So I’m joining her in taking a Sabbath from school-related-work during Lent. And you want to know the funny thing? About an hour into it after lunch yesterday, I started to really want to do my homework, to read the books, to sit down and write the papers. The motivation level was intense; and it’s still carrying through to today, so I’m really excited to do my homework, which is an interesting emotion. I’m excited for this - maybe it’ll carry over after Lent as well; who knows…
…what is everyone else doing for Lent? Giving anything up? Taking anything on? Deconstructing Lent? Or simply resting in the stillness of the liturgical season…
[Thanks Jonny for the ash image]
Posted in Theology
Adam Walker Cleaveland: 
February 13th, 2005 at 12:49 pm
I’m giving up sweets for Lent and have been blogging about it a bit.
I never grew up doing Lent and have just learned about what it means in recent years. I decided to participate in Lent after reading this…
“When in love, we give our loved one gifts with no real practical use; we give flowers, not plumbers’ helpers or motor oil. In the midst of romance, even sober adults commit themselves to small and meaningless rituals of which the loved one may never know. Christians in love with their Lord have, apparently since the very beginning of the Church, instinctively offered their Lord the gift of abstinence.
This means two things. First, people who love the Lord naturally want to imitate Him. He Himself fasted and instructed others in fasting (Luke 4:2; Matthew 6:16-18; Mark 2:20). Our Lord did it, so we do it. And second, people who love the Lord also want to cooperate with Him in the ways He has given us to purge ourselves of sin, so loathsome to anyone who loves the sinless Christ. Fasting is one of those ways.” http://www.tesm.edu/pubs/writings/wrape7d5
A good resource for Lent related readings and ideas is
http://www.catholicireland.net/pages/lent/ Everyday they give 1 simple idea on how to see the signs of God’s love for us in the things around us.
Much more on my blog.
February 13th, 2005 at 1:48 pm
for me, it’s more financial. i’m giving up buying books and coffee, realizing that i want to be able to give $ to this group or that one, and realizing again that I can’t because i’ve been so narcissistic with my spending. working in a bookstore with great discounts for employees on coffee and books isn’t helping, but necessary to understand what are right values and prioritites, specifically, what are Christian priorities of giving.
February 13th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
I’ve committed to losing a little sleep in the morning to get up and pray, to going to church or a bible study at least once if not twice (church and bible study) a week…as of late I simply haven’t had the time to go, so I’m going to make time. And I’m committing to finding a church up here that I can attend regularly and feel relatively comfortable at by the end of lent. I haven’t found a church here yet because nothing has clicked. I really don’t agree with some of the churches here on a lot of levels, so I’m still looking. I’m convinced God has something for me here, I just haven’t found it yet.
More or less I’m taking things on instead of giving things up because giving things up has never brought me any closer to God than I was before, so lent has been meaningless. It is my hope and prayer to change that this year.
February 13th, 2005 at 3:10 pm
yeah…. i feel like i need a fresh interpretation of lent and this year may be the year to do it. thanks for all of the reflections. it’s helping me to think this through in a different way.
February 13th, 2005 at 4:56 pm
I’m giving up spending money on unnecessary things and taking up listening to Morning Edition on NPR every morning as a I get ready for school. Sabbath is one of my favorite disciplines though. A bunch of us try to do it here on Sundays. It is such a counter-cultural discipline. To live out the belief that God provides and gives us plenty is a direct affront to our culture’s sense of scarcity - that there is never enough.
February 13th, 2005 at 5:59 pm
I was at an Ash Wednesday service where the preacher commented that Lent was not necessarily about what one gives up, but about what one re-claims. So, for Lent I am re-claiming the best version of myself, which does indeed mean fasting from certain things in my life that might be acting as obstacles to living life abundantly. What I have learned so far is that it is a lot easier to fast from wine and cheese than it is to fast from hateful words and feelings.
February 13th, 2005 at 11:53 pm
well here’s my two cents…or maybe you should be paying me to hear this little gem. i have been recently (read: ALways) longing to know what it means that we shall not live by bread alone, but by the entire Word of God. and in usually connecting that with fasting (for me personally), i am attempting to fast 4-5 times per week, from lunch through the next day’s breakfast, and in lieu of the food intake, making it a Word intake. and my hope, thorugh this consistent reminder of the life-giving power of the Word, that i will become more in tune with what it means to live by the Word. and only so by the Grace of God…
February 14th, 2005 at 12:23 am
i’m giving up wine…the glass each evening that feeds my addiction to relief (see my blog) (especially you adam, and comment, too after your posts about ‘no comments to your post;)
…you know the kick back, relax, end of a hard day, glass of wine…the one that takes the edge off the longing for things to be different, for pain and weariness to be less, to struggle a bit less…and since that decision…i want it even more…of course, just like you and your homework… but that is so biblical and actually a good thing…longings…
more on my blog… ~shalom, susie
February 14th, 2005 at 4:37 pm
I chose not to give anything up, but instead continue a discipline of confession, inviting Jesus and my community to teach me to be in the dark and broken places of my own life. It just seemed a much harder fast than chocolate, anyway…