SoulWork
Giving Up Self-Discipline for Lent
Easter is the perfect day to end Lent because it's the day when we recall that the chains of law and death have been broken by Jesus, the one who fulfilled the law and conquered death for us. We recall it in worship, with trumpets blaring and choirs singing and (in my church, sans yours truly) dancing in the aisles. We do it after church by gathering with friends and family and eating and drinking as if gluttony were a virtue.
So for me Easter doesn't become a day when I thank God that he has made me more disciplined, not like those non-liturgical folks who don't even observe Lent. Instead, it becomes an occasion to celebrate the fact that my self-respect does not hinge on my self-discipline, and that my very lack of discipline is the paradoxical sign of the gospel. Indeed, while we were gluttons and prayerless, while we didn't give a rip about the poor, Christ died for us. It's not for the spiritually fit and healthy that he came, but for the unfit and unhealthy. We may be faithless in areas small and large, but he remains faithful through and through.
So I end this little essay by grabbing two more pieces of candy, for Ash Wednesday comes tomorrow! It will be time to give myself again to disciplines great and small. I do that partly because, in the end, it is probably better to be a little more disciplined or loving and self-righteous than undisciplined, unloving, and merely lazy. And who knows, by God's grace, I may lose track of what my left hand is doing!
But I do it mostly to prove once again the impossibility of living up to God and the gracious necessity of being down to earth, of remembering that I am dust and weak and desperately in need of a Savior.
And recalling that I have one.
Mark Galli is senior managing editor of Christianity Today. He is author of Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Power of the Holy Spirit (Baker).
Copyright © 2012 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
Previous SoulWork columns include:
Looking for Jesus in All the Wrong Places | Why do we want to see God's face when it's only going to kill us? (January 26, 2012)
Why the Bible is Not a Book of Moral Laws| Contrary to popular belief, it's the startling gift book. (January 12, 2012)
A Christmas Prayer| We, like the shepherds in the field, like the woman at the tomb, are astonished, trembling in wonder and in fear. (December 22, 2011)
SoulWork
In "SoulWork," Mark Galli brings news, Christian theology, and spiritual direction together to explore what it means to be formed spiritually in the image of Jesus Christ.
Mark Galli
Galli is editor of Christianity Today and author of God Wins, Chaos and Grace, A Great and Terrible Love, Jesus Mean and Wild, Francis of Assisi and His World, and other books.
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- Mastering the Golf Swing of Life
The 'Handicap Icon' Gets New Life
Sidelining the Stigma of Mental Illness
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Bill Canaday
Jesus commanded only that we observe the memorial of his death. This was not accompanied by fasting. (1 Co 11:22,33,34) Since Matthew 28:18 is definitive, why partake in fasts decreed by others? The text about fasting at Matthew 17:21, appearing in the King James Version (KJV), is not contained in some of the most important ancient manuscripts. Thus many, more reliable, translations omit it entirely. Likewise, although the KJV mentions fasting at Mark 9:29, Acts 10:30 and 1 Corinthians 7:5, according to those older manuscripts references to fasting found in the KJV texts are scribal additions, and thus errors. (Re 22:18) Compulsory fasting is a relic of the Mosaic covenant, which ended with the ransom sacrifice of the Messiah, Jesus. So, why do it? Look to Isaiah 58:1-7. Obviously, it is mans yoke that weighs you down, not Gods'. Let fasting be a private matter between you and Almighty God alone. (Luke 18:9-14) Done properly, it is a source of joy and a portal for the Holy Spirit.
Mark Kyrieeleison
To respond to the clip, I couldn't agree more on the need for the community to add meaning. I do think it is judgemental to say that evangelicals/"pietists"(?, that name is kind of like calling an African-American "colored" or worse, if you ask me) don't enjoy and make use of community. We are not rugged individualists - the same challenge of and temptations against intimately connecting as Christians exists in both camps. In my experience, there was great weight placed on confession to a spiritual mentor, just not one that had any higher standing with God. However, evangelicals reject the authority of tradition as being equal to Scripture. We unfortuanately have jettisoned some tradition and history that would definitely be helpful. The theological and pragmatic error that had been introduced throughout the centuries was held unacceptable. I think both groups seek a balance of orthodoxy and community, when we seek to follow Christ, although we are both crippled by our fallenness
Ana Williams
Here is the link to the text of the podcast - http://roadsfromemmaus.org/2012/02/24/giving-up-something-for-lent/ He speaks about the transformative nature of ascetic practices, which other readers have alluded to. But he also points out that fasting should be done within a community. As Orthodox, we are constantly sharing recipes and hosting each other during this time so that the vegan meals aren't as much of a burden. Obviously, the fellowship is a nice blessing too! Also, it lessens the tendency toward self-righteousness and resentment (by the third week, the smell of pizza is torture, so it helps to have the community there to check us.) Finally, fasting should be done with prayers. Whenever I feel a hunger pang or feel angry at the fast, I try to call out in my head, Lord help me! I confess I love - and fear - the Orthodox Lent, whose prayers are so vast and thorough that I can become a participant of such grace, rather than trying to author it alone. In Christ, Ana
Mark Kyrieeleison
We're all called to holiness. The holier I become, the more honestly and clearly I can see my sins. Maybe this verse applies to our experience of Lent and our Christian life in general, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." There are so many experiences of the Christian life that I think it just depends on God's will as to whether one's life is victorious, or whether one's life is like that of C.S. Lewis' metaphorical drunkard in the ditch who may be leading a holier life than yourself (based on his circumstances). Jesus decided who he would and would not heal at the pool of Bethsaida, right? And who would see him in the flesh, for that matter... I think He means for us to have different experiences of Him. Not very clean and tidy theologically, but reality seldom is, in my experience.
Michael De Voe
Mr. Galli, I was directed to read your article because of the following Podcast which is a reponse from an Antiochian Orthodox scholar. I thought that maybe you would like to listen to it. It is only around 15 minutes long. Enjoy. http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/orthodoxyheterodoxy/giving_up_so mething_for_lent