Why Do People Give Stuff Up for Lent?
The custom of giving things up for Lent is widely known but little
understood outside of (and sometimes even within) the Christian communities where it’s common. One man shares his understanding of these practices and how it inspires him.
I’m a practicing Catholic, but I’ll admit that there are elements of my faith that I’d be better served to more rigorously understand. In recent years, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to think more intentionally about Lent, and part of that has entailed better understanding the deep meaning and symbolism behind its practices. It’s also been delightful to find that compassion is a key driver of many of these practices. The way I’m wired is often to come to appreciate and believe in something through both the strong inclination of heart and the rigorous application of mind, and my hope is that elements of both come through in the reflections that follow. These reflections aim to share what I have come to appreciate as the reason for, and the beauty of, fasting, or giving things up, during Lent.
Lent in the Christian tradition is a penitential season and a time of preparation for Easter. During Lent, many Christians give up something that normally brings pleasure. It may be meat, or desserts, or alcohol, or television, or any number of other things; the idea is that the person can choose something that represents a sacrifice that he or she offers to God.
The ideas of penance, atonement for sin, and giving up creature comforts may seem foreign, or even archaic, in modern Western society. Aren’t these the hallmarks of a less enlightened time (Monty Python scenes may come to mind…) and part of a canon of benighted thought that’s unhealthy for human flourishing?
Happily, no!
I’ve come to understand the concepts of penance and sacrifice as acts of love and compassion – virtues that still resonate clearly today.
The Catholic Church has historically highlighted three behaviors to be encouraged during Lent: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. All three are aimed at bringing us into union with God, and I believe, along with other Christians, that God is love. So, you could say that the purpose of Lent is to bring us into union with God, with love.
Lent is a time when we turn away from and eschew our shortcomings, self-centeredness, and material pleasures, and turn toward God’s higher good. Fasting is both an actual and symbolic act of turning away from those things. Maybe I’m the only one, but this isn’t easy! And that’s precisely why it’s so meaningful. The challenges that arise from fasting impel me toward the other two behaviors which bring me closer with God: prayer and almsgiving.
When we fast during the 40 days of Lent, we are attempting to emulate Christ. In the Bible, it is said that He spent 40 days fasting in the desert, eating nothing. And, all the while, He was being tempted by the devil.
I can’t begin to imagine the tremendous suffering He went through. It puts my suffering in perspective, and it also makes me think of all those in the world who suffer – for instance, people affected by famine and those who are not able to get enough food on a daily basis.
When I fast and experience the pain that comes from hunger or even the desire to have a drink of wine with friends (if that’s what I’ve given up), I am reminded of Jesus’s suffering. I imagine what He might have gone through as I cope with and try to work through the temptation of giving up, and I can actually take inspiration knowing that if He was able to get through it, then so can I because my suffering pales in comparison to His. Ultimately, I think of how His suffering culminated in His passion and death on a cross. And I think of His immense compassion – His wish to take on our suffering and our sin and His decision to do that to free us from it.
I’ve also noticed that our suffering not only reminds me of Christ, but is transformed into compassion – compassion for Him. The word compassion comes from the Latin cum (‘with’) and passio (‘suffering’), or, ‘to suffer with’.
For me, this aspect of fasting – of “suffering with” Christ, of having compassion for Him – brings me closer to Christ and awakens a strong wish to act as He did: to accept it with humility, to love tenderly in the midst of sorrow, and to offer my suffering through prayer for the
sake of others.
If the goal of fasting in Lent is to draw us closer to God – and to unconditional love – it makes sense, then, to give up something that represents a meaningful sacrifice. I like the idea of giving up something that I typically enjoy with regular frequency. That way I notice it. If I give up something that I use frequently, then I am reminded of Christ frequently. For example, I might give up coffee if I drink it regularly and rely on it to help me get through the day. During the Lenten fasting, each morning and afternoon when I want to have my coffee, I notice how I feel, and it becomes an opportunity to think of Christ and renew my choice to conform myself to Him.
Conforming ourselves to Christ, or becoming more like Christ, means we begin to act more like Him. We start to bring change in our lives. This transformation may begin internally at first (noticing what happens when you give up something, connecting with Jesus and finding love in prayer and compassion). But, as we do this more and more, our inward reflections start to affect other outward behaviors (we feel inspired to give and offer our time and services to others). We bridge the gap, so to speak, between our humanity and His divinity. As I draw closer to divine love, I find I am better able to radiate that love outward, loving other people better and turning that love into action.
I have found it heartening, beautiful, and mysterious all at the same time to realize, then, that Lenten fasting and suffering, which is an act of compassion, can in fact be joyful, for it leads to love!
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