Lenten Discipline
by Mary Pier (Mar. '01)
“Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector…” Every time this passage of Luke’s Gospel is read, a sudden wave of awareness comes over me. Zacchaeus Sunday is the first of the five Lenten preparatory Sundays. At this time, there is only one thought going through my mind: there are only five weeks left till the official start of Lent. Then my survival instincts kick in. I stock up on “Icy Hot” and Neosporin, for all of the aches, pains, and rug burns that come from prostrations. For the next five weeks, I am a regular customer at all the fast food restaurants in the York County area, eating as many burgers and chicken nuggets as I can before the start of Lent. I’m sure that all of you have had similar experiences. Just as we all have our preparations before Lent, there also preparations during the season of Lent that will ready us for the Resurrection of the Lord.
Lent is a preparation for the Resurrection of Christ resting on a tripod of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. In Lent, we are called to take a step back from the everyday bustle of our lives and concentrate on Christ again. It’s a renewal period, a time to start over, and focus on being members of the body of Christ – instead of the world. The three elements of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are instituted —not to make our lives miserable — but to help us achieve our goal of growing closer to God in the Lenten Season.
Fasting is the most active of the three that affects us during Lent. We are asked to give up all or a combination of the following items: meat, dairy products, wine, and oil. These strict guidelines are not for everyone. Most of the time we only focus on abstaining from meat. However, we should not focus too much on what we give up. The reasoning behind fasting is not just about abstaining from some foods. Fasting teaches us to discipline and control our body’s wants and desires. We are then supposed to use this control to focus on abstaining from sin, which brings us closer to God. “Therefore, also now, saith the Lord, turn ye to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord.” (Joel 2: 12-13) This passage emphasizes the importance for fasting to be accompanied with the desire to turn from sin. Fasting is also used to bring God into our lives more often. Every time we make the decision to order a puny Garden Salad over a Bacon Double Cheeseburger (extra cheese), God enters our lives. When deciding between the two meals, we remember that the reason we choose the salad is because we love God, and want to grow closer to Him.
The element of prayer is a silent element of Lenten preparation. A rough definition of prayer is “a conversation with God.” If the purpose of Lent is to draw closer to God, then talking to Him more often is an excellent way to establish a greater relationship with Him. Oftentimes, we find ourselves just drifting through life with no direction. Monday through Saturday we are overwhelmed with work, school, and friends. Our busy schedules rarely allow us any time to think, let alone pray. God may only appear once out of the entire week, on Sunday morning when we are half-asleep and exhausted from Saturday night’s excursions. Lent offers more opportunities for us to break from this monotonous routine, by attending Lenten services during the week and increasing our own personal prayer. By taking five or ten more minutes out of our day to pray, we are refocusing our lives five or ten minutes more on things concerning God, instead of the world.
The last element of Lent is almsgiving. Like fasting, almsgiving is another way that we discipline ourselves. We are called to move away from temptations and distractions that lead us to sin. Money is one of the greatest distractions we know. “For if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:30) Also when we are charitable and are selfless in our giving to help our brothers and sisters who are in need, we come a little bit closer to understanding the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross for our sins.
These guidelines are instituted for our benefit to draw closer to God. We are not, however, supposed to parade our good deeds before men. God is the only one who needs to know that we are fasting, praying, and giving alms. Instructions on how to fast, pray, and give alms are found in chapter six of Matthew’s Gospel. When fasting, “Do not be like the hypocrites, with a sad countenance. For they disfigure their faces that they may appear to me to be fasting.” Instead, “anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting.” When praying, do not “pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that [you] may be seen by men.” Instead, “Go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” When giving alms, “Do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them… do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.” Instead, “When you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, that your charitable deed may be seen in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
If we follow those guidelines, Lent will have a different and more powerful meaning. That’s not saying, however, that the task before us is easy. On the contrary, it is quite difficult – but possible. Take your time and be patient with yourself. When you stumble, do not despair, but try again. Another thing to remember is that Lent is only a starting block. Prayer, charity, and self-discipline should not be abandoned after Pascha. We should continue to practice them and use them to keep focused on our goal of attaining God’s kingdom and drawing nearer to Him.