There is still time. I am reassured that I can still come up with my choice for what to give up for Lent. Otherwise, it is an occupational hazard to be standing in the back of the church on Ash Wednesday, knowing that people will ask me what I gave up for Lent and not having my choice made.
On one-too-many occasions I have quipped, “chocolate-covered rutabagas.” Once a parishioner gave me a plastic container with cooked chunks of rutabaga covered in chocolate. I ate one. It was awful. I liked to joke that for Lent I gave up NFL games on TV. There aren’t any.
It is easier for me to give up my favorite soda than it is to give up my favorite fast food. One year I gave up hand-battered onion rings with a side of mayonnaise for dipping. It is one of my comfort foods. It was tougher than I thought. The next year, I gave up the mayonnaise.
I have also been more ambitious in my Lenten disciplines. One year I gave up TV. Another year I gave up the radio in my truck. The trouble with daily things is that it is easy for me to forget and then in a panic, quickly turn off the TV or turn off the radio. Guilt shadows an otherwise nice day.
It is a bit of an echo of the sin of pride to think that whatever I give up makes or breaks the Lenten season. Anything we give up is but a minuscule effort in comparison to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Whatever we give up, if it is a regular reminder of the mystery of the cross, then it is an experience of humility and a worthy reflection on why we give up things in the first place.
So, too, the disciplines of Lent do not cause Easter. Like a tripod, fasting, almsgiving and prayer are not repayments for what Jesus has done for us. Rather, they are reminders of the restorative grace given to us when we are open to receiving them.
Likewise, the legs of the tripod are each distinct in their character and purpose. I know it is popular to do something positive rather than give up something. But the broader understanding of almsgiving includes acts of service as well as monetary donations. Prayer is not intentional service. In our hectic, noisy and sometimes chaotic world, the beauty of prayer can be in the lack of activity and in the depth of silence. It is a good Lenten practice to remember the abstinence from meat on the Fridays of Lent. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of abstinence from meat as well as fasting. Additionally, to give up something for Lent is part of fasting. Though it may seem like a token gesture, it is an easy reminder of a deeper reflection on the mysteries of our faith.
Yes, it is easy to see that it is still a Good Friday world all around us and within us. If all we do is give up candy, then our sweet tooth will be in piggy heaven when Easter comes. To give up something for Lent, whether a difficult discipline or without much thought, if it helps us to understand better that we are an Easter people, then it has meaning and was worth the effort.
