40 days

I’ve never been very good at following rules for the sake of following rules. Much to the constant frustration of some people in my life, and the constant delight of others. (You can please some of the people some of the time…)

And we’re now 6 days in to the season of Lent- that holy time of preparation for Easter that comes with its own set of rules, some of which make sense to me, and some which don’t. The ones that don’t make sense are mostly the traditions that seem to be directed towards making things miserable and joyless and saying “we do that because of God” and then wondering why some people get the impression that God prefers it when we’re miserable and joyless. But whatever.

I’ve been thinking a lot since Wednesday about the tradition of fasting, in part because this year, I’m more aware than I’ve ever been of the moral element that has crept into general perceptions about food and eating. (Thus the new sticker that went on my fridge door right after the mail came).

Here I am, trying to shake some pretty deeply ingrained ideas about “good” and “bad” foods, and the inherent value of restrictive dieting, and I’m hip-deep in a Church tradition that affirms that there is, indeed, some spiritual value to be found in a discipline of fasting.

And, I was on deck for the children’s sermon yesterday, when the Gospel reading was Jesus’ fasting and temptation in the wilderness, I wound up talking to the kids about fasting, and why maybe, there might be some value in following this tradition, other than just because it’s what we do. (If I’m bad at following rules for the sake of rules, I’m even worse at telling other people that they should follow rules for the sake of rules, especially kids). My particular tradition doesn’t have set criteria for fasting- some people observe a daylight fast, some go veg for the season, some ‘give up’ a favourite treat. Chocolate and alcohol are popular Lenten Fast items. I notice nobody ever gives up foods they classify as “good foods”. I thought briefly about a spinach fast, but, mmm… spinach.

I wound up talking about how, sometimes, when things become very familiar to us, we stop really seeing them, or appreciating them. And that by taking away something familiar, we maybe get to see it in a new way, and appreciate it in a new way, and Thank God for it in a new way. Sort of like if you stare for a while at the big gold circle in the stained glass, and then close your eyes, and you see a big purple circle.

So for my Lenten fast, I’m going to try seeing some things about food in a new way.

I will fast from the idea that some foods are good, and some are bad, and remember that God saw all of creation, and saw that it was good.
I will fast from the foods that I don’t really want, but eat because they are there, and feast on the foods that will make me, and my body, happy.

We’ll see how it goes.

So may this be, for me, a Holy Season, in which I learn to see food in a new way, and Thank God for the abundance that surrounds me in a new way, and in which I embrace abundant life in a new way.

However you choose to observe this season, may it be a time for blessing for you.