Leaning into Lent

St. Ephraim the Syrian
The Great Lenten Prayer of St Ephraim:

O Lord and Master of my life,
take from me the spirit of sloth,
despondency, lust for power and idle talk.

But grant unto me, Thy servant,
a spirit of chastity, humility, patience and love.

Yea, O Lord and King,
grant me to see mine own faults
and not to judge my brothers and sisters.
For blessed art Thou unto ages of ages. Amen.

O God, cleanse Thou me a sinner

"What are you giving up for Lent?" This question is fairly common at this time of year, and during my days as a rather fundamentalist Evangelical Christian, I used to get a little irritated at the apparent legalistic attitude of some regarding the whole "Lent thing." It seemed incredible to me that the only way I would know someone was a Christian, was by their admission that they'd given up eating meat, or drinking coffee, or watching TV etc. for Lent. The rest of the year they'd blend right into the environment, with no outward demonstration of their professed faith.

This kind of "giving up" of something often leads to obsessive mental pre-occupation which becomes more spiritually harmful than the thing itself!

In the Orthodox tradition - Lent is a time of spiritual preparation. A time of repentance, or re-direction of life. Reminding ourselves through the exercise of spiritual discipline in three focus areas: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving, or Charity.

The act of fasting is not merely abstinence from certain kinds of food, it is more about reminding ourselves of our reliance on God; a turning away from self-sufficiency. When we are satisfied with the material pleasures of life, most visible in our desire to be comforted by food and drink, we are tempted to deny our need for God's sustenance.

St. Ephraim's Lenten prayer expresses the spirit of Lent - surrendering, or "giving up" the things that cause me to be centred on myself, and instead, focusing on what God has done for me and what I can do for my brothers and sisters.

In Orthodoxy, life is lived in "redeemed time." Every day is lived with an eternal perspective - bringing the past and future into the present moment. Lent is the commemoration or "living out" of the experience of life before Christ - before the restoration to new life. When we fully understand what life is without Christ, we more fully appreciate life with Him. Which came through the advent of Pascha or Easter.

Perhaps the question should be: "What are you giving for Lent?"