Hey, it's Shrove Tuesday, Mardis Gras, Fat Tuesday Carnival! You know what that means: eating, drinking, and debauchery! YAY!
Why these festivities? Because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of 40 days of Lent - a time of fasting. So it's time to eat up the food that would go bad during the fast. It's also time to drink before the fast (not that the alcohol is likely to spoil). And it's time to do all kinds of other crazy stuff because, well, it's a party, right?
I'm not here to put a damper on anyone's celebration. I love Mardi Gras. But having Mardi Gras as a festival prior to the fast gets it a little backward.
There are two big times of fasting in the Christian calendar: Lent and Advent. "Advent?" some may ask. For those unfamiliar with Advent, it's the four weeks before Christmas. For those who were not aware, yes, it was once a time of fasting.
So why these periods of fasting and self-denial? Fasting - along with prayer - was considered a way of preparation. In the case of Advent, it's preparing for the arrival of Jesus, in the incarnational God-With-Us in-breaking of the divine into this world. We celebrate this with the feast of Christmas. In the case of Lent, it's preparing for the events of Holy Week, the end of which we celebrate with the feast of Easter.
Notice that the feasts come at the end of the fasts, not the beginning. You can see this in other faiths as well.
But fasting isn't really about giving something up. It's about preparing for change. And in the case of the Lenten fast, it's preparing for a change in the relationship between people and God. Depending on how one understands the crucifixion, the time in the tomb, and the resurrection, it can be about changing God's mind to forgive us, or cheating Satan out of his claim on us, washing our sings in the blood of Jesus, or conquering death, or proving to us the promise of eternal life. However one understands the events of Holy Week, however, this is a week in which, for Christians, everything changes.
So if our relationship with God is going to change, we should get ready. We should take some time in prayer and meditation to hear how God is moving us. And if there's something in our lives that is distracting us, it might be good to decrease that distraction so we can better hear God.
I encourage my readers to spend the next forty days (Sundays aren't counted) listening more deeply to God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, to the divine in whatever way you hear it. Then, on Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with a feast, we'll be ready for what comes next - whatever it may be that God is leading us to.
People get ready.
Why these festivities? Because tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of 40 days of Lent - a time of fasting. So it's time to eat up the food that would go bad during the fast. It's also time to drink before the fast (not that the alcohol is likely to spoil). And it's time to do all kinds of other crazy stuff because, well, it's a party, right?
I'm not here to put a damper on anyone's celebration. I love Mardi Gras. But having Mardi Gras as a festival prior to the fast gets it a little backward.
There are two big times of fasting in the Christian calendar: Lent and Advent. "Advent?" some may ask. For those unfamiliar with Advent, it's the four weeks before Christmas. For those who were not aware, yes, it was once a time of fasting.
So why these periods of fasting and self-denial? Fasting - along with prayer - was considered a way of preparation. In the case of Advent, it's preparing for the arrival of Jesus, in the incarnational God-With-Us in-breaking of the divine into this world. We celebrate this with the feast of Christmas. In the case of Lent, it's preparing for the events of Holy Week, the end of which we celebrate with the feast of Easter.
Notice that the feasts come at the end of the fasts, not the beginning. You can see this in other faiths as well.
But fasting isn't really about giving something up. It's about preparing for change. And in the case of the Lenten fast, it's preparing for a change in the relationship between people and God. Depending on how one understands the crucifixion, the time in the tomb, and the resurrection, it can be about changing God's mind to forgive us, or cheating Satan out of his claim on us, washing our sings in the blood of Jesus, or conquering death, or proving to us the promise of eternal life. However one understands the events of Holy Week, however, this is a week in which, for Christians, everything changes.
So if our relationship with God is going to change, we should get ready. We should take some time in prayer and meditation to hear how God is moving us. And if there's something in our lives that is distracting us, it might be good to decrease that distraction so we can better hear God.
I encourage my readers to spend the next forty days (Sundays aren't counted) listening more deeply to God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit, to the divine in whatever way you hear it. Then, on Easter, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with a feast, we'll be ready for what comes next - whatever it may be that God is leading us to.
People get ready.
Good set up for the time of Lent. I'm going out with a friend for a nice seafood dinner tonight as a "farewell" to meat for Lent. Nervous and excited to go vegetarian for forty days for reasons theological, ethical, and health-related.