I have been thinking about what spiritual practices to commit myself to during the 40-days of Lent, which begins this year on March 5th, Ash Wednesday. Lent often comes upon me earlier then I expect, and I find that I have not given enough thought to how to observe this important season of the church year as we walk with Jesus toward Good Friday and Easter. An important part of Lent is to nurture and grow spiritually. So, what does that mean?
A good
description of spiritual is given in the book “Praying with Body and
Soul” by Jane Vennard. Vennard’s
definition of spiritual, is “all that has to do with one’s relationship with
God”. Therefore, the spiritual life is a
life lived in relationship to God. A spiritual
practice is that which we do to deepen and strengthen our relationship with
God.
The
traditional practices which are meant to deepen our relationship to God during
Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
In some traditions these disciplines are seen as obligations, but these
are really practices that can free us up to be mindful of how the Spirit is
working in our lives.
Prayer and
almsgiving (giving materially and of ourselves in service to the needy), are
pretty much a part of my ongoing life, individually and corporately. I don’t know anyone who thinks they do these
things well enough or perfectly; I certainly don’t. But fasting?
That’s something altogether different. Certainly not much a part of my
Lutheran upbringing.
Fasting is
the practice (and discipline) of giving up food, or something else, for a
defined period of time to make space in our lives to be more intentional
about our relationship to God. Vennard
writes that when we fast “we create emptiness in our bodies and space in our
lives.” I have found the notion of
emptiness to be true in my experience with fasting. Going without food for several meals
certainly gets my attention. It
heightens my awareness of Jesus’s emptying himself for me, and the rather
minimal hunger I experience is minuscule in comparison to the hunger of so many
people in the world. That, to me, is
what a spiritual practice should be – an activity done with intentionality and in
response to God’s love for me.
I am
thankful that St Luke Lutheran, where we worship, observes Lent with a Wednesday
evening soup and bread supper followed by a contemplative service featuring
Taizé music and some silence. In the
choir we are learning, Faure’s Requiem in preparation for the Good Friday
service. Singing and listening to music are
eloquent forms of prayer to sustain one’s spiritual life.
I haven’t
quite decided what my fast will be this year but there’s still some time to ponder
– though Lent is almost upon us! Think about it.
