By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food
until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken;
for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Genesis 3:19 New International Version (NIV)
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, from A Psalm of Life
Ash Wednesday ushers in Lent, a time of repentance (signified by ashes) and preparation for Easter. I did not grow up with this tradition, though I envied the ashes. In the past I have participated by giving up meat and jewelry except a plain cross. I took great pride in this, defeating the real purpose, of course.
Lent, a distinct season of fasting (from foods, habits or activities), can be used as an opportunity to step away from the loud and incessant demands of the body and listen instead to the quieter soul, to find help to overcome temptation and fight addiction, and grow closer to God. Paul says:
Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation,
because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able
to obey his own purpose. Philippians 2:12b-13 Good News Translation (GNT)
My “fast” this year includes tracking my eating and making better choices. It also includes a spending fast on non-essentials; such as reading the Kindle books I have instead of buying new ones. I would also like to follow modified canonical hours. It sounds rather impressive, but when I consider Jesus’s sacrifice, anything I “give up” or do during this season is pretty small potatoes. No reason for pride here.
Six weeks, they say, is roughly the time needed to get a toehold on better habits, like healthy eating, wise spending and deliberate prayer. So why not make use of time, already marked out, to lay foundations – in body and soul – that might be eternal?
Dear Lord,
as I begin my journey toward spiritual growth,
help me to look deep within myself and let go of the old
and embrace the new life that comes from You.
Amen
(NOTE: Sundays are not counted in Lent. From the very earliest days, the Church has declared that Sunday, the day of Christ’s Resurrection, is always a feast day, and therefore fasting on Sundays has always been forbidden.)