“What are you giving up for Lent?”
That’s a traditional question in many church circles this time of year. In these weeks leading up to Easter, a season of the church that has traditionally been associated with fasting, self-denial, and prayer, many Christians engage in the season by giving up some creature comfort.
When I was in high school and college, I think I gave up sweets and soda just about every year. One year, I got a little more adventurous, and gave up Tex Mex food (I regretted that one almost immediately). Once in graduate school, I gave up all meat and went vegetarian. (You haven’t really celebrated Easter until you celebrate it by eating a chili cheeseburger after six weeks of vegetarianism.)
These were all interesting practices – and there is real value in the practice of fasting. When we fast, the idea is that we turn away from something that we love so that we might turn towards God, who is meant to be our ultimate love. Every time we get a craving or want to turn to the thing we’ve “given up” for Lent, we are reminded that thing, whatever it is, can’t really satisfy us. Sure, Tex Mex food is great – but it is not nearly as great as the Living God, and, unlike Jesus Christ, it cannot satisfy me eternally. (It’s still great, though.)
Fasting, therefore, can be (is!) part of a healthy spiritual life, something that encourages us to turn towards God in prayer.
But it’s important to remember that Lent is about more than just removing some habits or resisting some cravings. Lent is an opportunity – an invitation – to turn towards God and find life. One of my favorite Lenten practices – one to which I have returned frequently – is reading through all four Gospels between Ash Wednesday and Easter. I love this practice because it focuses my mind on the story of the God who meets us in and through Jesus Christ. By the time I get to Easter, I feel like I’m swimming deeply in the story of Jesus – and that experience encourages me (and helps equip me) to follow him more faithfully and trust in him more fully.
But Lent is about more than even these traditional spiritual practices. Lent is an opportunity to “fast from” or “lay down” practices that draw our hearts away from God. Many spiritual leaders in recent years – including popes Francis and Leo, along with a variety of spiritual teachers and mystics – have invited people to fast from hatred and instead feast on love, to fast from judgment and feast on mercy, to fast from anger and feast on peace. This year, Pope Leo challenged Catholics (but his words are helpful for all Christians) to fast from harsh words or judgments of others. He says, “Let us begin by disarming our language, avoiding harsh words and rash judgement, refraining from slander and speaking ill of those who are not present and cannot defend themselves. Instead, let us strive to measure our words and cultivate kindness and respect in our families, among our friends, at work, on social media, in political debates, in the media and in Christian communities.” Then, we might be able to let our words of hatred “give way to words of hope and peace.”
In a world that is torn apart by war and division, in which hateful and angry voices sometimes seem to get all the airtime, in which demonization and despair are running rampant – in a world like this one, perhaps the most faithful Christian discipline during Lent is finding ways to multiply love, justice, and mercy. Maybe it’s little actions like trying to be more gracious to the folks who drive you crazy. Maybe it’s donating money to groups that are working to care for folks who are refugees or who are in danger due to war. Maybe it’s offering kindness even when you’re worn thin.
We are each invited to pick up practices of goodness and lay aside practices of hatred. May we each find ways to take steps towards that during this Lenten season.
The journey of Lent is a journey of following Jesus, learning to reshape our lives to more closely reflect his life. We can do that through simple actions of prayer, service to others, studying Scripture, and more. We can also do that by turning away from unhealthy and unloving patterns and turning towards ways of living that multiple joy and life. However you walk through Lent this year, may we join together on a journey of multiplying love as we seek to encounter the God who is Love itself – and as we tell the story of the death and resurrection of the Jesus who is Love in the flesh.
