Lenten Wisdom: A gift for us
Written by Pastor Ryan Rindels
“...I afflicted myself with fasting.” - Psalm 35:13
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lenten season that ends on Thursday, April 6th.
Lent is an old tradition in the church. As a Baptist, I did not think much of Lent, save for the cursory observation that it was something Roman Catholics had to do. Growing up, I remember Catholic classmates deliberating over what object or habit they could give up for 40 days. There were jokes about abstaining from homework, track practice, and the like.
Seasonal fasts are rooted in early church tradition. Like many traditions, what began organically and voluntarily hardened over the centuries into law. By the late Middle Ages, it was a grave sin to violate the technical prohibitions prescribed by the church. The Swiss priest Ulrich Zwingli decided to eat meat during Lent on the basis of Lenten fasts having no support in Scripture. This was an intrepid and deeply symbolic act. Zwingli was, in effect, applying the principle that all traditions should be judged by Scripture and, if necessary, discarded.
Rejection of Lent by many Protestant Christians is best understood in wider terms of a belief that the Bible rather than tradition is normative for the church’s doctrine and practice. Fasting is biblical, taught by Jesus as a normal part of a Christian’s life (Matthew 6:16–18). Scripture doesn’t specify when or how long believers should fast. Christians are free to choose when and from what they abstain. That being said, fasting during a set period of time is spiritually beneficial. Without compulsion or guilt, my experience has provided the kind of benefits that only come when sacrifice is done willingly.
In 2019, I gave up coffee, which was easier to complete than I initially thought. In 2020, I abstained from looking at weather forecasts and blogs, which was surprisingly (perhaps embarrassingly?) hard. In 2021 and 2022, I did not use social media.
Social media can draw away focus from flesh and blood relationships to their fragmented digital imitations. Look around, and you will likely see folks who are “absent,” even when they are physically present. Technology can deceive us in diverse ways. One deception is believing we control more of the world than we actually do. Rather than give us power or wisdom, seemingly limitless content only heightens anxiety.
If you’re like me, you may have developed a tendency to “swipe right” out of boredom. “For you”—Apple’s algorithm supplies an endless stream of articles. For 2023, I plan not to read the news on my phone in hope that it will sharpen my focus on Jesus, his incarnation, and ultimate crucifixion.
Perhaps this isn’t the costliest Lenten sacrifice in the history of the church, but it is something. Self-denial in small matters equips us to overcome those which are great. Not that abstention merits a reward, but it can be God’s beautiful blessing to us.
If Lent is not law, it is certainly wisdom, for it provides an extended period to live the words of Deuteronomy (8:3), quoted by Jesus in his wilderness temptation, “Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
God is Lord of all creation. His son Jesus has purchased our eternal redemption. We can orient our lives to contemplate these truths without worrying the world will fall to bits when we turn away for a few days.
