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By Heather Hahn*
1:30 P.M. EST Mar. 3, 2010 | LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (UMNS)
Renewing a centuries-old debate, Arkansas pastors have taken to the
Internet to discuss the spiritual value of making personal sacrifices
such as giving up chocolate or television for Lent.
The conversation started when the Facebook page of Lakewood United
Methodist Church in North Little Rock posed the question of whether
anyone was planning to give up social networking for Lent.
“Seriously?” wrote the Rev. Danyelle Trexler Ditmer, pastor of Atkins
First and Bells Chapel United Methodist churches in Arkansas.
“I have to say that is a very poor view of the Lenten discipline of
sacrifice. It’s like giving up chocolate. In what way will that help you
grow closer to God? Instead, let us all endeavor to follow a Holy Lent
whereby we honor sacrifice by taking on disciplines that will enrich our
life with Christ and help us more fully appreciate the suffering and
death of our Lord and the glory of resurrection on Easter morning.”
The Rev. Russell “Skeeter” Hull, pastor of Nashville First and Bingen
United Methodist churches, had his own take.
“I don’t argue anything that you say,” he replied, “but I think that to
say giving up chocolate or social networking would be random or of
little value is going a bit far. The idea of the Lenten sacrifice is to
make time for us to do exactly what you are talking about in your
previous post. If it is social networking, TV, telephone, breakfast —
WHATEVER it is — it’s about creating a time to be in prayer or the
Word.”
Reformation debate
The pastors were engaging in a debate that was part of the Protestant
Reformation.
In 1522, followers of Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli publicly rejected
Rome’s prohibition against eating meat during Lent by eating sausages
not long before Easter (and were arrested for their trouble).
Harvard University historian Steven Ozment has said for 16th century
church authorities, the Lenten menu was tantamount to burning a flag
today. The act of defiance is often cited as the start of the Swiss
Reformation.
William B. Lawrence, dean of the Southern Methodist University’s Perkins
School of Theology in Dallas, said that Zwingli — like his contemporary
Martin Luther — rebelled against what he saw as the increasingly
arbitrary rules of the Roman Catholic Church.
These rules failed to draw people closer to Christ, Zwingli argued.
“In a word, if you will fast, do so; if you do not wish to eat meat, eat
it not; but leave Christians a free choice in the matter,” he preached.
There is a strong biblical base for fasting, particularly during the 40
days of Lent leading to the celebration of Easter. Jesus, as part of his
spiritual preparation, went into the wilderness and fasted 40 days and
40 nights, according to the Gospels.
“Which is better: to give something up for
Lent or do something new for Lent? The answer would be both.” -- William
B. Lawrence
The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox churches continue to have
fasting rules during Lent. But as a result of the Second Vatican Council
in the 1960s, the Catholic Church has shifted its approach toward more
personal responses to penitential practices.
Catholics were encouraged to substitute a meaningful act of penance as
an alternative to not eating meat on Fridays year-round. The church
still asks Catholics not to eat meat on Fridays during Lent and to fast —
eating only one full meal — on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
Karen Crutchfield
However Christians come down on the question of fasting, Lawrence
suggests that the 40-day season involve some spiritual devotion on the
mystery of Christ’s sacrifice.
“Which is better: to give something up for Lent or do something new for
Lent?” Lawrence said. “The answer would be both.”
Wesley endorses fasts
Methodism founder John Wesley wasn’t content to limit fasting only to
Lent. He fasted twice a week — on Wednesday and Friday — said the Rev.
John Farthing, retired Hendrix College professor and now senior pastor
of Greenbrier First United Methodist Church.
“His fast did not involve abstinence from food altogether, but allowed
for limited consumption of food and drink,” Farthing said.
Wesley also advised moderation because he didn’t want Christians to fast
so severely that they damaged their health.
Still, Farthing points out that Wesley’s idea of moderation would seem
quite ascetic by today’s U.S. standards. Wesley was adamantly opposed to
overindulgence. He also criticized the common Lenten practice in 18th
century England of abstaining from pleasant food. In short, Wesley —
like Ditmer — was not a big fan of giving up chocolate for Lent.
“I take that to mean that Wesley sees such minimal fasting as a
trivializing of something important,” Farthing said. “I think the
absence of an emphasis on Lenten fasting reflects Wesley’s desire for
fasting to be an integral part of the Methodist lifestyle rather than
just an annual observance.”
Focusing on God
The Rev. Clayton Bulice, senior pastor of Primrose United Methodist
Church in Little Rock, suggested that fasting should be more about doing
something good than doing without. He cited Isaiah 58:6: “Is this not
the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo
the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break
every yoke?”
Others find going without helps their spiritual journey.
Bishop Charles Crutchfield and his wife, Karen, usually fast one day a
week. The Crutchfields will often begin a 30-hour fast following a noon
meal and not eat until dinner the next day.
“For me, fasting is a way of focusing on God,” Karen Crutchfield said.
“It is an addendum to prayer and helps me recognize my human
limitations. It helps get ‘me’ out of the way so I can listen to God.
Fasting is an act of repentance, discernment and humility. My focus
during fasting is intentionally not on myself and my needs, but on God.
Any hunger pains or discomfort become a reminder to pray.”
Karen Crutchfield added that it doesn’t matter what a person gives up as
long as God is the focus.
“It is certainly not an achievement,” she said. “To be able to fast is
another gift from God.”
*Hahn is editor of the Arkansas United Methodist.
News media contact: David Briggs, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Please let us know what you are doing for Lent.
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