From the Pastor – March 2024

You are the light of the world.”   Matthew 5:13

Ash Wednesday has come and gone.  That means we are squarely in Lent again.  Every year people of faith ask me about Lent practices.  Should I give up something for Lent?  What does it mean?  How did it start? Let’s chat about it for just a bit.

                  In Europe during the Middle Ages, the next
several months of the year were marked with the greatest food insecurity of the year. So, whole communities were faced with a reckoning, “Did we grow enough food to last to the next harvest?  Did we preserve enough food for this season?  Did we ration the food correctly to last?”  The late winter and early spring were lean months for whole communities before the globalization of food production and transport.  With this in mind, people of faith would choose to not eat a specific food group to give their friends and family members a better chance at
survival.  One can see the deep spiritual and sacrificial nature of the practice.

Flash forward a few hundred years, and food
production and distribution has changed markedly.  While there is still food insecurity, it is more localized rather than universal.  But, the practice remains.  So, the
question is, do we still do this?  My answer is, it depends.  If you are giving up something for Lent to move towards greater health or for a purpose, it may be worth it.  Such as if you are giving up smoking, overeating,
eating too many sweets, drinking too much caffeine, then, yes, now is a great time.  Of dubious value is giving up something for your own pride or just to prove you can do it.  Maybe even worse is giving up something and then getting crabby about it.  Let me tell you a story from my own life.

As a new Christian, I gave up meat for Lent one year.  I had not done my homework about complete and balanced proteins, so my health was a wreck in short order.  I was crabby, lacked the ability to focus on my
college classes and had no energy.  My friends would ask, “what’s wrong?”  I’d answer, “I gave up meat for Lent.”  They would respond, “Good for you!”  But, this practice really did not do anyone any good.  It was not a means to service for others or growth in
understanding grace.  It made the people around me grow in grace:  They had to put up with me!

So, what are Lenten practices that make sense?  I say, ones that help you grow in trusting God more and service the community.  That is how this practice started in the first place.  Some people with the constitution for it skip up a meal, and save the money or give to a
charity.  That seems to make sense if you can do it without losing your focus or temper.  Perhaps a better
practice would be to devote a specific time each day to prayer for those around you or  attend a Bible study.

Whatever you do, or do not do, remember that you are the light of the world.  Let grace be the example you set in this world.
Be a role model of love.
Because God first loved you.

Grace and peace,

Jim