Is Ash Wednesday and Lent viable spiritual habits for a Christ-follower or is it more form over substance? I was thinking it was about disrobing for God and relying more on Him than things...than the barriers we hold on to, and thus letting those go. However, she told me it was about being reminded we are here preparing ourselves for another place. She then said the Catholic "religion" has many traditions.
So it begs the question, if it is just tradition, why bother? Does God really want our mindless observance of a tradition more than our heart-felt obedience to a stripping away of self-reliance?
Thoughts...
- Do you observe Lent...
- What do you target as wanting to lay down for God...
- Can this be a healthy habit for a Christ-follower...
- Is Lent more like lint and just a residue of stuff we put on...
- Was Christ's mission to prepare Himself for another place...
4 comments:
Ashes on your forehead symbolize mourning and penance, giving up something for Lent shows your suffering. The notion of man as an innately sinful beast, born with original sin, has enormous social and political consequences. Such a pessimistic appraisal of man's worth has been used to justify the most outrageous tyrannies and extraordinary cruelties. It also works insidiously to destroy whatever self-esteem individuals might have. In its psychological impact on populations, it works like a virulent plague, denigrating man and rendering him susceptible to control.
Callie, I can't tell if you are for Lent or against Lent...but I will say that it seems to me that those who practice Lent, after Mardi Gras, are doing more so out of tradition and less out of suffering. It's not that hard to give up chocolate or a t.v. show or eating meat for 40 days, excluding Sundays. Shouldn't our suffering be daily, and shouldn't others know we are "suffering" for our Savior outside of a mark on our forehead? Just my opinion.
I disagree that since sin entered the world through Adam that gives a pessimistic view of our worth. It means we bring nothing of worth to God to close the gap between His holiness and our humanness…thus our need for a savior.
Our original since does not correlate to worth gained through the accomplishments of the world, which develops self-sufficiency and a lack of sufficiency in Christ.
I do not believe in penance, I believe in repentance; I can do nothing to work off the sacrifice of Christ. Anything that brings me closer to God has been by God's mercy, grace and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Tyrannies and cruelties seem to be great examples of sinful man separated from a holy God. Being a Christ follower does not insinuate a weak mind, it implies someone who lives by faith and not by sight, which I feel makes them less susceptible to cognitive coercion.
Callie, I had to use a dictionary just to decipher your email. That is a lot of $.50 words there. I am not sure what was driving that response. But I would love to hear more. Just make sure you bring it down to my level. I only have a master's degree. ha.
Oh well, anyway She wears a smudge on her forhead. I have cross necklaces and earrings. What's the diffrence? I am not the judge of whether or not that means something significant or not. If it means something to her, then she is only one that can judge that, not me. (Luke 6:37 commands us to neither judge or condemn others. Remember this is a tradition we are talking about, not a sin) I am most certain there are many people who wear crosses on their clothes, jewelry, etc., but do they bear out the name of Christ with integrity? Maybe or maybe not.
As far as lent is concerned, AGAIN, I am sure that there are some folks who practice it mechanically, out of tradition and perhaps in an attempt to please parents or others in their life, but I am sure there are those who are very heartfelt in their practice of lent. Okay, all of you non-catholic Christians (ME included), how many of you fast? Is this NOT a form of lent? And if you don't fast, maybe you should. It is commanded of us.(Isaiah 58:5-7; Matthew 6:16-18; Acts 13:2; Acts 14:23) Jesus' instructions on fasting ALWAYS ASSUME WE ARE fasting in the first place. Furthermore, prayer and fasting is continually synonomous throughout the old and new testament. When we fast, we give up SOMETHING FOR GOD. Want a wonderful reference sheet on fasting and the different things you can fast (including food or not) with accompanying scripture references? I have it. Just ask. Glad to share. So what does that sound like: wow, it sounds like Lent. They call it Lent. I call it fasting. The only argument you could make, is fasting is specifically commanded, and Lent is more of a man made tradition. But I would say that is one traditon that holds its own in scripture. Oh and if you think that fasting can be done with the wrong motives-You are right. READ Isaiah 58:3-6 and Matthew 6:16-18.
One final thought, when looking at other evangilical Christ followers, I try to focus more on what unites us, rather than what divides us. I hope this blog response helps to do that. I am so glad that God has taken on the role of judge. Incidently, we don't even have to judge sin. We just have to take a stand against it in our lives. God already judged sin for us. As far as traditions are concerned-those issues that are neither specific commands or sin. Read Romans 14. It is a great and fast read. Here is a sneak peak, but read the whole chapter. Verse 4 "Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand." yipee. I love that.
Judy McCarver
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