The Good of Giving UpExemplo

Lent is Binding Ourselves to Christ

(from chapter 2: A Mercifully Short History of Lent)

Early church leaders called their people to devote themselves to a regular season of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving to form themselves as more mature Christians. This season later became known as Lent, but in the meantime it was simply a gentle harness  that yoked the fledgling church to Jesus Christ.

Fasting is a willing abstention from eating food, and some drinks, to make space in our souls to feast on Jesus. In short, fasting is “hunger for God, concretized.”1 For many people, this is the most painful and powerful part of Lent. We cover the varieties of Lenten fasting in chapter 8 of The Good of Giving Up.

Prayer is participating in the life of God, talking with and listening to Him, whether in solitude or communal worship. Christians pray using the Scriptures, especially the Psalms. In Lent, our prayers take on a tone of repentance and contrition, which we discuss in chapter 9.

Almsgiving is a direct participation in God’s generosity as we give away our resources in love to our neighbor. We look more closely at this in chapter 10.

When the Christian church weaves fasting, prayer, and almsgiving together over a period of several weeks, individuals, families, and communities are impacted powerfully. These practices strengthened the ancient church in at least four areas.

Spiritual growth. Seasons of prayer and fasting allowed our spiritual forebears to participate in their union with Jesus, who Himself fasted as He sought refuge in His Father’s love (Matt. 4:2). Jesus assumed that His followers would fast after he returned to the Father: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matt. 9:15). Prayer and fasting were practical ways for the early church to receive Jesus’ strength in their weakness.

Discipleship. Pagan converts to Jesus needed to cultivate new habits to support their walk with Christ. Fasting, prayer, and generosity over a period of time promoted spiritual reformation. Along the way, they received pastoral support in the form of prayer, fellowship, confession, and Bible teaching. In addition
to forming new converts, this process helped to weed out informants. 

Generosity. The early church took on responsibility for those marginalized by the Roman Empire, including abandoned babies, widows, lepers, and victims of plague. The practice of generosity, or almsgiving, made this sustainable. And when the early Christians fasted from food, they had more resources to give away.

Discernment. After persecution began to wane, many people who renounced Christ and betrayed their friends and family sought reentry into the church. Periods of fasting and prayer were integral to determining how and when to welcome apostates back into fellowship. Requiring the lapsed to fast, pray, and give generously helped to weed out the insincere.

In short, Lenten practices were a loving and pastoral response to the needs of a congregation. And they still are, provided that we practice them in the right spirit.