Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast." (Mark 2:19)
Giving up stuff for Lent isn't simply a way of flogging oneself with discomfort, or making oneself miserable. It is a way of responding to Psalm 46's injuntion, "Be still and know that I am God." Sometimes in the noisy din of food and pleasures we deafen the ears and blind the eyes of our spiritual selves. Lenten discipline is a way of taking those senses back, and listening for a different master. It is the comfort of the "food to eat that you do not know about." (John 4:32)
1 comment:
It's interesting, because when I was younger it was a huge deal to give something up. For the past couple of years I've given up coffee, which I've received slack from from friends simply because I do it every year. But it's such a habit to drink it and have it in the car on my drive. I mean let's be honest. If I could have an IV of it, I probably would. So to me, it seems like a valid thing to give up.
But ultimately, I don't view it as a way of flogging myself, so to speak. I do it more as a sacrifice of something that I enjoy, which is slightly different than inflicting pain on yourself.
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