Yesterday I blogged about the centrality of the resurrection and shared my struggle with the very small amount of attention we in American evangelical circles give to the observance of Easter.

One thing that I have come back to time and time again is Lent. Growing up in Baptist, Independent Bible, and Missionary churches, Lent was not something I was familiar with. I vividly remember being a Junior in high school, my first year in a public school, and seeing Catholic friends come to school with ash on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday – it was memorable because I had never seen that before and didn’t know what Ash Wednesday was!

According to an article originally in Christianity today, “Early church father Irenaus of Lyons (c.130-c.200) wrote of such a season in the earliest days of the church, but back then it lasted only two or three days, not the 40 observed today.
In 325, the Council of Nicea discussed a 40-day Lenten season of fasting, but it’s unclear whether its original intent was just for new Christians preparing for Baptism, but it soon encompassed the whole Church.”

I find it interesting that a tradition that dates back to a generation or two from Jesus and the Apostles has been all but ignored in the Christian circles I am most familiar with. Why?

Now, I am not talking about “giving something up for Lent,” as though not eating chocolate for 40 days is akin to the suffering of Jesus and it somehow makes you holy. While I’m sure that a person could do this with righteous motives and a true desire for self-denial, and that in this situation it could yeild spiritual fruit, it seems to me that most people I am closely associated to who “give something up” don’t really seriously consider why. It’s just a tradition.

Our small group has been working through Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, and this week we were discussing the chapter on fasting. Appropriate timing, isn’t it? Fasting is right up there with Lent as a topic that was rarely, if ever, discussed in our churches. After this week’s discussion my husband and I have been seriously talking about fasting in our own personal lives. I am no expert on fasting – read Foster’s book if you want to learn more [Courtney pointed me to this online book from John Piper, as well]! But, I did want to just ramble a little bit about what has been rolling around in my head.

First of all, I appreciate that Foster carefully points out that fasting is never commanded in the Bible. However, Jesus’ words of instruction for “when you fast…” (Matthew 6:16) simply assume that we will! In addition, in Matthew 9:15 Jesus answers criticism against his disciples not fasting by saying, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” Foster states, “There is no way to escape the force of Jesus’ words in this passage. He made it clear that he expected his disciples to fast after he was gone. Although the words are not couched in the form of a command, that is only a semantic technicality. It is clear from this passage that Christ both upheld the Discipline of fasting and anticipated that his followers would do it.” (54)

Fasting is a form of personal worship. It is not a dictated, regulated aspect within the New Covenant under Christ – it is a personal act of celebration within our walk with Him, an outgrowth of a desire to grow closer, commune deeper, to walk humbly with our God. I love that Foster also points out that it reveals the things which control us, as well. It is an act which God can use to purify us and reveal hidden sin in our lives.

Fasting is something that I want to start incorporating into my personal walk with God on a consistent basis. This is uncharted territory for me, so I was hesitant to post anything about it on my blog, but this discussion of Easter seemed an appropriate time to share where I’m at personally. I am not going to observe Lent as we usually picture it, but I am praying about how God might have me incorporate fasting into my own internal preparation for the celebration of His resurrection.

We are not doing this as a family – of course my 1 and 3 year olds are not going to fast (believe me, LB would not be in favor of that on any level!) But why would they? This is not a commanded observance, and it is not merely a cultural tradition to give up something. They do not yet have a relationship with Jesus Christ; following traditions do not create relationships. However, I do have a relationship with Jesus Christ – and in my desire to deepen my walk with Him, this is an area I feel called to submit to the pattern of Scripture, and I eagerly anticipate God’s work through this time with Him.

What are your thoughts about and experiences with Lent? Do you observe it in a traditional way, in a personal way as I am thinking about, or is this a new thought to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. No matter how we do it, I think that taking a period of time (there is nothing magical about 40 days) of deliberate, personal reflection and preparation is critical to us really celebrating the truth of the resurrection.