Lentern orientation...

I am crap at denying myself anything.  Pretty much anything I want i get and if i can't get it straight away i keep on wanting it more and more until i do get it. Food is a particulatly great example of this, i am the petrol station snack king, always popping in to buy what i am fancying at any given moment!

That's why this Lent I have decided to give up on alcohol.  It is not as challenging as say burgers but it will be something that I will miss and it gives me a chance to start practicing my feeble muscles of self denial!

A good friend of mine scoffs at the idea of Lent - seeing it as new yrs mark II - a chance for a do-over of those broken resolutions where something is given up not as an act of sacrifice but as an act of gain - e.g. i'm not eating chocolate as i hope to lose a few pounds etc.  For this reason, my friend avoids all forms of lentern resolutions, as an anti-lent protest (and therefore has given up on giving things up ;).

Are you giving anything up for Lent?

Or maybe you are taking up something instead?

Like my friend at work who has decided to give up being an agnostic for Lent and has decided to try being an atheist, a christian and a muslim for 2 weeks each to find out what life off the fence feels like.

He has clearly thought this through as he says that there is no point in just dabbling his toes in the water, if he follows this through than its full immersion or nothing - now whether 2 weeks is long enough for more than a sheep dip is another question but i admire his commitment to try and orientate his life in each faith as much as possible.

It was not lost on me how i often do the exact opposite and just dip my toes in my christian  faith - usually based on what is the least cost/most convenient/least involved/bare minimum for me.

It has made me think of how little evidence of a positive good faith orientation exists in my life.  I contrast myself with Muslims who, where possible, gather together 5 times a day to pray.  I struggle with praying for 5 minutes per day and gathering once or twice a week with a bunch of christians.

Lent is one opportunity where i can practice my faith more intentionally - in a climate of people giving things up or taking things up  I can reflect why I am  doing something intentionally and explicitly that might cost or inconvenience me - and not just for my own benefit/gain.

I attended a Lent service tonight and was signed with the cross in oil and ash on my forehead by another person.  It reminded me that there is so much of practicing my faith that i can not do alone at my own convenience!  It also challenged me to begin to think how else i could identify myself and orientate my life around Jesus?

What do you think we can do, both individually and communally, to more explicity reflect and orientate our lives around Jesus?

Afterall he didn't pull any punches when he said:

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life  will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."

What does intentionally practicing losing our lives look like?

Comments

[Duncan McFadzean]

Paul, I've never given up anything for Lent - it was never a big tradition where I grew up, and neither have I come across many who practised it strangely enough. I find a lot more interest in it now and I wonder if that's because I'm talking to different people, or because (like with liturgy) there has been a re-examination of the benefits of the ancient traditions?

I think that picking up these traditions, and also taking them outside of the church family, even allowing others to watch as we partake, will surely demonstrate WHAT we believe in (albeit we could be accused of showmanship). However, surely to actually reflect our lives around Jesus we need to spend more time with Jesus and focused on Jesus - primarily through spiritual disciplines. Our church is "trialling" 24/7 prayer communally at the moment, but what about communal times of quiet, communal fasting (??), communal repentance?

[Kamsin]

I'm giving up cakes for lunch at work. But then it was pointed out that that's not much of a sacrifice as I've only got another week and a bit till the end of term! We then had a big discussion about fasting and different fasting practices in different cultures/ religions. It's one of those things which pops up in most religions and I guess there are various perceived benefits, some of which are spiritual, some of which are more about identifying more deeply with our humanity.

But I do think there is something weird about the fact that in our culture where most of us throw food out regularly and never have to deny ourselves anything we want there is also a significant number of women who regularly "fast" certain food stuffs either due to diets or something more serious such as anorexia. I'm not entirely sure what I'm trying to say but I wonder if the anorexic who believes she'll be a better person by being thinner (I'm sure that's oversimplified of what's going on) isn't somehow tapping into the spiriutal benefits to be gained from denying ourselves without any culturally defined context or regulations for that practice (hence it becomes an unhealthy and dangerous process).

But anyway, having witnessed Muslims practising Ramadan Lent seems so tame by comparison and so few of us nowadays actually manage to give up anything. I do think that part of the key is that Ramadan is a communal practice, a shared experience. Any spiritual discipline within our culture is so much about private, individual practise that the idea of shaping our community through shared deprivation seems utterly alien.

To attempt to answer your question I wonder if intentionally practicing losing our lives might involve letting go of our indivual wants and needs in favour of communal practices.

[sonja]

I'm doing a number of things ...

I've taken on the Jesus Creed Challenge (saying the Jesus Creed morning and evening).

I'm attempting to reconcile at least one broken relationship. Depending on how that goes, I may attempt others.

I will more than likely give up soda. I'm still considering that part. It's hard to face certain meals without rootbeer, but ... then what would be the point? So, I think will probably give it up. Because I need to and because I need to. I need to for my physical health and for my spiritual health.

[sonja]

I'm doing a number of things ...

I've taken on the Jesus Creed Challenge (saying the Jesus Creed morning and evening).

I'm attempting to reconcile at least one broken relationship. Depending on how that goes, I may attempt others.

I will more than likely give up soda. I'm still considering that part. It's hard to face certain meals without rootbeer, but ... then what would be the point? So, I think will probably give it up. Because I need to and because I need to. I need to for my physical health and for my spiritual health.

[Laura Anne]

I've given up watching American Medical Dramas (a sacrifice, seen as I recently received the whole of Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy on DVD which I've not seen yet) and also Alcohol...

[Paul]

Thanks Duncan, great comment. I grew up in a low church background so was never that fussed either - and never really liked pancakes so thought what was the point of shrove tuesday as well :)

For me it's been a re-appreciation of the traditions of the church - one of the things that i didn't mention in my post above is the reminder within ash wednesday service about death and how our faith trascends death. In our western culture death, like spirituality, has become a private affair, doing something together to remember the reality of our own mortality - how faith is more than just me or you.

I hear what you are saying on the be like Jesus front, i guess i struggle with what that looks like - in terms of how do we practice that individually and communally. There is so much else in my life that is tryin (and succeeding) in orientating me in other ways that how do i get shaped by Christ and jis community/body of the church - and how do i shape others in return?

[Paul]

Thanks Kamsin, awesome thoughts! In some ways me giving up alcohol is a tame practice compared to say muslims and ramadan - but then again me giving up anything is radical.

I guess there are spiritual practices which help us if we lean towards excess (those of denial like fasting) and there are spiritual practices that help if we lean towards not doing things - like prayer or serving/giving. A healthy mix probably should involve both?

I agree with you tho, i think that we have made a lot of our spiritual/christian life about private/personal practice - rediscovering what that means to do that communally goes against the grain of our cultural experiences - we are shaped to be in charge of us and to do what we want then.

With someone who is anorexic they are orientating their life around the practice to get what they want in life - happiness comes when they will be slim altho their subconscious tells them that they are fat - so they can be on the verge of death by starvation and still look in the mirror and see someone fat staring back :(.

Then again am i that different - it might not be my size but i often feel that i don't have enough and therefore must stay on the treadmill until i do or i die...

[Paul]

Thanks Sonja, you are hardcore, giving up root beer is a step too far for me :)

[Paul]

Thanks Laura Anne - are the two related??? ;)

[Toni]

"What does intentionally practicing losing our lives look like?"

For me, this means not just doing what pleases me, but instead seeking to please Father even when it means missing out on stuff I like. It's a lifestyle thing really, that sometimes I succeed at - and sometimes I climb back off the altar.

As for lent, some have special days while for others all days are alike. I'm in the latter category, and tend to view the church calendar as a way of organising outreach more than having any effect personally. Christmas reminds me more of the cross: it's the time I'd rather sing easter-type songs. TBH I'm not really sure whether the church calendar is a totally man-made device that God tolerates or whether there was originally some divine inspiration in there. It's probably not that important for me to know, and the mystery will at least keep me on my toes.

[Brian Niece]

I'm involved in several personal practices for Lent. You can see them at http://www.brianniece.com/2008/02/18/a-lenten-exercise-analyzing-exile-part-3/ and http://www.brianniece.com/2008/02/11/sin-and-facial-hair/.

Also, the faith community I serve is instituting the following practices which we intend to carry beyond Lent:

Practice of Compassion
I will spend four hours each month helping the poor people in my community.

Practice of Justice
When I am aware of injustice to others, I will not remain silent.

Practice of Devotion
I will pray each day, privately and with family or friends.
I will read and study the Scriptures each day.
I will prayerfully care for my body and for the world in which I live.

Practice of Worship
I will worship each Sunday, unless prevented.
I will receive the sacrament of Holy Communion each week.
I will return to Christ the first tenth of all I receive.

Practice of Contemplation and Action
I will obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit to serve God and my neighbor.
I will heed the warnings of the Holy Spirit not to sin against God and my neighbor.