In many church traditions, the Lenten season does not find an appropriate place. The argument is often that all days are equal and one can fast and pray every day of the year. Yes, it is true that daily sins call for daily repentance. It is also true that all days are the same and fasting/praying during Lent does not have any special merit. However, our experience convinces us of another truth no less certain that often the worries of this world take over our frail bodies and resolve and make us all enervated and negligent to the spiritual concerns. If this neglect is not dissipated and dispersed by frequent admonition, it would be sealed up within our souls, resulting in impenitence. If we leave the choice to our sinful nature to choose a convenient time to turn us from unrighteousness to repentance and holiness, that convenient time would actually never come. Thus, the lofty words of advice of keeping everyday holy alike turns out in reality to be keeping no day holy at all.
Therefore, if the Church provides us with a season of drawing closer to God through kneeling in prayer with fasting, we ought to make use of this opportunity. The cares as well as the fascinations of the world around are such that they will certainly choke the little seeds of the gospel in us. So, let us admit that our souls have become sluggish, careless, and indifferent to godliness. Let us admit that we are in need of reanimating our piety, increasing our spiritual fervor, and taking them to a higher level in the service of God as well as fellow human beings. If we confess, there is hope for us. If we repent, there is grace in abundance for us. The problem is not that we make mistakes and are prone to sinning; rather, the problem is not admitting that we are on the wrong path as Dieter F. Uchtdorf once said: “The heavens will not be filled with those who never made mistakes but with those who recognized that they were off course and who corrected their ways to get back in the light of gospel truth.” Let me therefore urge you to make use of the Lenten season to repent as I close with this meaningful quote:
“The church is not a theological classroom. It is a conversion, confession, repentance, reconciliation, forgiveness and sanctification center, where flawed people place their faith in Christ, gather to know and love him better, and learn to love others as he designed.”
― Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change.
The horrifying news of a terrorist organization recently beheading 21 young Coptic Egyptian Christians was heartrending. However, this is not the first time Christians have been killed for their faith. Persecution has been a part and parcel of Christian faith from its inception. The problem is not persecution, because Jesus Christ clearly stated: “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16: 33). Instead, the real problem is a Christian faith without knowledge of persecution or that perceives little inconveniences as persecution. Many of us would identify ourselves as Christians without the blink of an eye. But few would take the time to pause and think what it actually means to be identified as a Christian. The season of Lent provides us with such an opportunity to hit the pause button on our busy schedules and take time to reflect on our faith.
In the first three centuries of Christian faith, when the church was persecuted daily by kings and governments, one would not venture out to declare him/herself a Christian unless it came out of deep-rooted inward conviction and unwavering commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. When it was not fashionable to call oneself a Christian, if someone dared to declare one to be a Christian he/she knew that it involved the persecution; the burning in fire, the burning as torches in the night tied to posts and pillars, the hanging on the cross, and being thrown in the boiling oil. It involved being banished from their society, thrown in prisons, left to die in dungeons, and being offered as food to hungry animals. To identify as a Christian meant to be ready to not just be ridiculed and frowned upon by people and governments; but it meant to be ready to sacrifice not only one’s property, but family, dear ones, and his/her own life for the sake of one’s faith. However, what the persecution ultimately did for the church was to purify it. The fires of suffering and martyrdom refined the church of dross and made it so strong that it not only survived but has thrived over the centuries.
Therefore, in the wake of growing worldliness and corruption in the church, let’s make use of Lent to pause and ponder on what it means to be a Christian today. What is our inner conviction? Who are we committed to and for what? Are we ready to face opposition to the practice and propagation of our faith in Christ? How will we respond if someone takes away our little conveniences such as a parking spot closer to the door or a familiar cushioned seat in the church? Will we leave a church just because we can find a better “deal” for our children at the new church down the lane? Will we stop financially supporting a church just because the pastor preached the truth instead of trying to be politically correct? Will we take the time to fast and on these issues? Will we take time off to go back to the Scriptures because we truly believe that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man [and woman] of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3: 16-17). And as we do this during Lent, let us hope and pray that God will deliver you and me from lukewarmness, loss of devotion, loss of zeal for the Lord, and prepare us to be truly Christian.
For centuries, fasting has often been associated with the Lenten season in various church traditions. I am often asked if one should fast during Lent. Therefore, I wanted to briefly explore this question today.
Fasting has been part of the biblical spirituality from time immemorial. Jesus himself fasted several times and spoke about genuine spiritual fasting as opposed to fasting as a show off of one’s religiosity. Jesus had no qualms about calling out people who showed off their fasting to others as hypocrites (Matthew 6: 16-18). However, historically speaking, there is no unanimity about fasting and the number of days one should fast during Lent. There is no divine or apostolic institution of Lenten fasting. The forty days Lent fast did not appear in the Church earlier than the 7th or even 8th century which was introduced by either Gregory the Great or Gregory II in the Western Church. So, Lenten fasting is a church tradition which evolved over the centuries. Even when early Church Fathers speak of fast, they clearly refer to different ways in which fast was observed. The time or days of fasting varied from forty hours to three weeks to six weeks or even seven weeks before Easter. However, most people in different church traditions did not fast for more than thirty-six days in total.
This is not to say that fasting has no significance during Lent. Even though the scriptures do not lay any demands on us to fast during Lent and God does not credit those who fast with extra righteousness or punish those who do not, fasting has its own spiritual benefits. God does not keep a record of how many hours, days, or weeks you fast nor does fasting in itself has any merit. It is not the duration that matters but it is the motive for and manner of fasting that is significant. The purpose of fasting is not to please God or to get any extra credit in our heavenly account; rather, the purpose is to use the act of fasting for our own sake; to devote ourselves to look within, to do penitence, to kneel in prayer, to meditate on God’s word, and to draw closer to God through this exercise. Though not mandatory, fasting could help us confess our sins, to ask God’s pardon and cleansing of our soul and body to be ultimately at peace with ourselves and with God, our Creator. Fasting has nourished the saints of old and it has the potential to nourish and edify us, too, in our life marred with tight schedules and stresses of all kinds. It is a true saying that “what can be done anytime is usually done at no time”; therefore, let us take advantage of this Lenten opportunity to do a sincere inner self-examination and deep cleansing with the powerful blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us use this provision of Lenten fast to grow in God’s grace and to be clothed anew in His holiness and righteousness without which no one will see God. Amen!
The sacred season of Lent is upon us beginning with Ash Wednesday, today. One of my church members sincerely asked me yesterday: “What does the Bible require us to do during the Lent season?” He was not concerned what people do out of their tradition or what the church expects us to be doing, but specifically what do the scriptures teach and expect us to follow. He knew about the requirements in the religion of Islam during Ramadan—a thirty day period of strict fasting— and wished to know if believers in Christ, too, had such requirements. I told him there are no such biblical requirements. However, for further clarification for his sake and for many who might be reading this, I would like to briefly state how Lent came to be observed in the early church. A historical view is also needed due to such a diversity of opinions and usage of fasts and other traditions among different shades of Christians.
Lent is usually associated with fasting for forty days before Easter. That’s why one of the earliest terms used for Lent was “Quadragesima” in Greek and Latin, which referred to the length of forty days of fasting observed by Christians. The fasting season was also called “Ante-Paschal Fast” which meant the fasting observed before the paschal feast or the Jewish Feast of the Passover. Christians later termed it as a fasting time before the Easter celebration. The more popular and current term, “Lent”, is derived from the old English word for Spring season, “Lencten”, which, perhaps, has to do with the lengthening of days during the spring.
When it comes to observation of the Lenten season through fasting, there is hardly any reference in the New Testament. However, it cannot be denied that the Bible has a long tradition of penance, fasting, and prayers and the Lord Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and forty nights during his temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4: 1-2; Luke 4: 1-2). The Lent observance, therefore, falls back on this tradition of fasting by Jesus for forty days. However, nowhere did Jesus ask his disciples to do this before Easter.
The observance of Lent in the form of fasting before Easter emerged gradually. It is first mentioned by church fathers such as Irenaeus and Tertullian in the latter half of the second century. However, there is a controversy as to the length of the fast, as they refer to fasting for only one or two days or forty hours—the length of time Jesus spent buried in the tomb before his resurrection. Even this short fasting was observed mainly by those believers who were preparing for baptism which was often conducted on Easter. Many other believers in the church also fasted along with new believers if they could. However, it was not until after the famous Council of Nicea, which was held in 325 AD, that the length of fast was fixed at forty days. Thus, it was not until the middle of the fourth century that Lent came to be observed widely in the church. Even then, the rigorous fast was mostly observed during the week preceding Easter, often called the “Holy Week.”
The number forty in the Lenten fast shouldn’t surprise us because of the prevalence and ubiquity of not only “forty” in the Scriptures but also the fasting for forty days (see, Genesis 7: 4, 12, 17; 50: 3; Exodus 16: 35). Moses fasted twice for forty days (Exodus 34: 28; Deuteronomy 9: 9, 18). Elijah went without food for forty days fleeing Jezebel (I Kings 19: 7-8). People of Nineveh fasted for forty days to escape the wrath of God (Jonah 3: 4). And finally, as mentioned above, Jesus himself fasted for forty days.
What should believers do today, then, in the face of lack of a clear instruction in the Bible for fasting before Easter? To me, the most reasonable course of action seems to be to follow the apostolic dictum found in Romans 14: 5: “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.” So, whether you fast or not, whether you give up something or not for Lent, the overall purpose during this Lenten season of 2015 should be to hit the pause button on our very busy life and take stock of our spiritual journey. This solemn period should be spent more in taking an inventory of our spirituality than in deciding what we should eat and what we shouldn’t eat, or what we should give up and what we shouldn’t give up. If we are still more concerned about this food and fasting; then, we are missing the point of this sacred season in our Christian life, that is, to walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, to follow Him, to learn from Him, and to be like Him. Let us give up glorying in our self-righteousness or in our own pious works of fasting and giving up material stuff, instead, let us take this time to clothe ourselves in the righteousness that comes through believing the Son of God who gave up his very life for us. I would like to invite you to join me on this Lenten season, as I try to blog here almost every day of the forty day period. Your feedback on these posts is appreciated. Thank you.
Jesus Christ’s mission on this earth is the foundation of our mission today. One of the neglected aspects of Jesus’ mission is that of peacemaking and peacekeeping. This aspect of his mission clearly shows us Jesus’ approach to violence and evil which was prevalent in his world as it is in our time. Social evils, bigotry, zealotry of all kinds including “terrorism” and “holy war,” banditry, class conflicts, foreign occupation, colonization, hostility between Jews and Romans, and Jews and Samaritans, fanaticism, and so on, were all present in the time of Jesus. He had to deal with them in the same way that we encounter these issues in our lives today. Jesus’ command to love and to work for the peacemaking was his response to the current events of violence and hatred in his day. He wanted to show both Jews and Romans that the peace that he has come to establish comes through love, acceptance of enemies, and unlimited forgiveness than revengeful violence or military might.
We have taken the Great Commission seriously and have crossed difficult geo-political and cultural boundaries in carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth. However, the church has often neglected the command of Jesus Christ to love our enemies and have failed to preach the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, which is an intrinsic aspect of Christian mission. If we fail in following Christ in this aspect, then we are guilty of neglecting his mission.
In the passion narrative of the gospels, Jesus refused to retaliate even in his self-defense. Jesus healed the servant of the high priest who was struck by one of his disciples fully knowing that the high priest had sent them to arrest and condemn him to death (Luke 22:50-51). At the cross, Jesus prays for his executioners (Luke 23:34). Stephen literally follows the example of his Master by praying for those who stoned him to death (Acts 7:60). Even after his resurrection and gaining a glorified body, Jesus does not go after the Jews who conspired to crucify him or the Romans who carried out his execution. If the history of the church narrated in the book of Acts of the Apostles shows us anything, it’s that although the fledgling church lived in the midst of hatred and violence, it made sure that peacemaking was an integral part of their missional existence in a world full of hatred. This struggling church was always on the move and outward looking in its mission. Their inner spiritual life of the followers of Jesus was always connected to and manifested in the outer world of sin and violence.
What was true of the Master must also be true of his followers today. We have no option but to make peacemaking and peacekeeping an integral part of our missional existence as a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus showed it and the world needs it!
Christian mission, which took birth in the violence inflicted upon Jesus Christ and his subsequent resurrection, has always had violence hover over it as Christians tried to obey the Great Commission of their Lord Jesus Christ. That is why I have often said that Christians should not be surprised by the violence we see around us. Mission cannot remain unscathed from the prevalent violence in the context of which mission is practiced. Nevertheless, violence also should not deter us from carrying out the mission God has called us to. As the gospel and well-established human assumptions and reflexes interact with each other it is bound to produce some sort of violence. That is why Jesus has given his Kingdom ethics to deal with the context of violence in which mission is practiced. Nothing summarized it more than the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
Particularly in the current context of violence and counter-violence, hate, domination, terrorism, and counter-terrorism, it has become imperative for the church on God’s mission to return to the ethics taught in the Sermon on the Mount. And to reflect upon it afresh and to confess that our failure to live according to the superlative demands of this ethics does not really absolve us from living the kingdom life here and now. The church does not have the liberty to exclude either violence or kingdom ethics from its missiological agenda even though it has tried to do so in the past. God’s mission has never been concerned with just the personal, spiritual, inner conversion of people’s lives; therefore, the church’s mission cannot be confined to only the spiritual conversion of human being and making their relationship right with God. So, the mission cannot stay apolitical because Jesus Christ and his sermon on the mount were certainly not apolitical because they challenged traditional structures and assumptions of every society. Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount challenge us to practice Christian mission beyond just “saving souls.” Our mission in today’s context must be political in the sense of peacekeeping, peace-making, working toward reconciliation and justice, dissuading people from seeking vengeance, and above all loving our enemy as Jesus exemplified in his life, deeds, and ultimately in his death upon the cross. Without this last act, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount would have remained just a hollow sermon without any practical meaning for us. But we know that the Sermon on the Mount, in the words of Lapide P., “gets its true binding force only through the exemplary life, sufferings, and death of the Nazarene who sealed its validity with his own blood” (Sermon on the Mount: Utopia or Program for Action?, 1986: 141). May the Lord give us the grace and strength to take part in the mission that he began in his earthly life. Amen.
In my last post I pointed out that violence should not surprise us, as it does not surprise God who is familiar with it from the beginning. Today, I would like to share that Christian missions, too, was born in dreadful violence and calls us to diligently engage in God’s mission.
In the last days of his earthly ministry, Jesus was pursued by men who wanted to see him dead. At Passover, in his last journey to the Temple in Jerusalem, Jesus was so enraged by what he saw there that he got violent as he cleansed the temple. The spiritual and physical degradation of the people of God was at display in all its brazenness in the temple—“a house of prayer for all the nations”—turned into “a den of robbers” (Mark 11: 17). While Jesus’ startling behavior infuriated the religious leaders of the day, the common people responded by flocking to him. In Jesus, they saw a prophet who would restore the temple as “a house of prayer for all the nations” (Mark 11: 17-18). Jesus’ aggressive actions, however, also forced the Jewish leaders to act on their violent intentions against him that finally led to his execution at Calvary.
Jesus Christ suffered one of the most gruesome last hours on his journey to the cross at Calvary. Mel Gibson’s famous Hollywood film, The Passion of the Christ (2004), helps us understand some of that torture inflicted on Jesus and yet we will never fully fathom what a vicious death Jesus died for us.
It is in this violence, suffering, and his death on the cross, that Christian mission was born. Without the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we do not have any good news to share and no reason to call humanity to be restored and reconciled to God and to fellow human beings. Without the death of Jesus on the cross, there is no hope for the chaotic world. And this, I submit, is the greatest paradox of Christian mission: that God, in his sovereignty, would let Calvary become the fountain of our salvation, restoration, reconciliation, and eternal peace! Yes, I know, it is incomprehensible. Nevertheless, it is the Lord’s doing and it’s marvelous in our eyes.
Therefore, in the context of violence today, the followers of Jesus Christ who are also called to be witnesses of his death and resurrection, must take courage and strength from this paradox. We, who are his witnesses, should not be surprised by the violence and also should not shy away from sharing the good news. Let the violence around us not deter or overwhelm us from sharing and persuading people into restoration, salvation, and reconciliation. Let us persistently look unto God, the author and finisher of our salvation, and trust him to turn the violence and suffering into something beautiful for his Kingdom, because only God alone can do it. So, while it is easy to sing “I’ll cling to the old rugged cross” sitting in our comfortable pews of cathedrals, but very difficult to take the message of the cross to a violent and hurting world outside. However, the Great Commission of the One who died on the cross is not to sit and sing alone but to “go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation” (Mark 16: 15).
Just a few days into the New Year and we have already witnessed the brutal killing of writers and cartoonists inside their office by Islamic terrorists. Another more gruesome killing, which the western media did not cover as much, happened almost at the same time in Nigeria. A terrorist organization, Boko Haram, which had captured at least 300 girls, is now reported to have slayed over 100 innocent people and torched about 16 villages in Nigeria. These are just two major incidents in the first week of this New Year. Many more around the world are now going through some of the most gruesome violence either for their faith or for no apparent fault of their own. It’s in this context that we as Christians are called to take part in, and carry out the Missio Dei— mission of God.
Mission is always done in context; otherwise, mission has neither relevance nor any meaning. Our context of livid violence by human beings against each other challenges us to reflect on how we are to participate in God’s mission. First and foremost, let us not despair by what we see around us. This should not surprise us as we live in a fallen world marred by sin and violence. However, in this mad world, God, the one who calls us to missions, remains the same—the Unchanging One. Remember, when God began his act of creation the world was in a chaos (Genesis 1: 1-3). The earth was formless, in disorder, in darkness, and void. Over this chaos, God declared: “Let there be light” and there was light! From this day on, God’s Word has been creating order, meaning, light, and life in our world. And God is still alive. He is still on His throne. God is still on this mission of restoring wayward humanity to Himself. And what’s more important is that God calls us puny mortals to come with nothing but faith to participate in this mission of restoration and reconciliation. We need to call people to trust in this creator God by persuading them through both our words and deeds. Nothing else but the love of Christ should constrain us to be engaged in this calling. In the words of Apostle Paul,
“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade others; ….For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them” ( II Corinthians 5: 11-15).
It is our privilege to participate in God’s mission of restoration and reconciliation, as this is the need of the hour today more than ever. The context in which we are living in makes this mission even more meaningful and relevant than anything else in the world. It is more important than the numbers we seek, more important than church growth, and more important than our own little kingdoms, name and fame. In these words of Apostle Paul, our mission today as ambassadors of God, is calling people not to ourselves but to God alone:
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Corinthians 5: 18-20).
I hope to reflect on mission and violence further… stay tuned! 🙂
Even if a little late, I wish you all a very happy New Year!
I am grateful to the Lord for ushering me and you into this brand near 2015 and I wish and pray that this year turns out to be a great, joyous, and blessed year for you. Like most people, I am pretty sure you too made a few resolutions for this New Year. And, like most people, you too may fail at those resolutions in the very first month of the year. But don’t worry as you are in good company. In fact, a study in the United Kingdom reveals that only about 12% people meet their New Year goals and that means 88% people fail. Interestingly, 52% participants in a sample size of 3000 people said that they were confident of their success (http://www.quirkology.com/UK/Experiment_resolution.shtml)!
Consequently, I do not make any resolutions because, I believe, even if we are in the New Year, we are the same old you and I. We know that there is a lot of pressure on us to make New Year resolutions. The media is constantly bombarding us with the messages that challenge and motivate us to pull ourselves up by the shoulders and muster all the strengths we have to become the person that you and I are not: skinny, ever-loving, never smelly, rich, powerful, amicable, lovable, attractive, and so on and so forth. That is, everything the world wants us to become and in reality we cannot. Still, many of us jump on the bandwagon of yearly resolutions expecting this New Year to be different from the last years. However, a few weeks into the New Year and a whopping 88% people give up as they realize that they are the same old people. The years go by and we are stuck with the same old person who is getting older and older by every New Year!
Therefore, I think, instead of making resolutions, we need to work on getting a new us—a new you and a new me! This is possible only through looking within instead of eyeing only on the outside. The problem is not with the world. Rather, it lies within you and me. Unless there something changes within us, i.e., our attitude to be precise, the New Year resolutions would not help us much. Attitude is the key word that makes a huge difference in how the New Year will turn out for us. In fact, our attitude is more important than our circumstances, our successes, and our failures. It is more important than what others think of us and want us to be like or do. It is more important that what the media tells us that we should be like. We need to, then, pause and do a self-inventory of our attitude in this New Year. Attitude is how you react to your circumstances and people around you. Attitude is not revealed in how we normally live and react when everything goes the way we have planned it; rather, attitude manifests itself when we are faced with very trying circumstances and difficult people. Our response then reveals to us and to the world our true attitude. If somehow we could let the Holy Spirit to make changes within us than outside us, we may gain a better attitude and live more victoriously in the New Year. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans:
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NASB).
I close here with a short story that I read a while ago as it beautifully illustrates what attitude is and what it can do to us and to the world around us. Thanks for reading and God bless your journey!
“Once upon a time, there was an old and very wise man. Every day he would sit outside a gas station in his rocking chair and wait to greet motorists as they passed through his small town. On one particular day, his grandson knelt down at the foot of his chair and slowly passed the time with him. As they sat and watched the people come and go, a man who surely had to be a tourist began looking around as if he were checking out the area for a place to live.The stranger walked up to the old man and asked, “So what kind of town is this that I’m in?” The man replied, “Well, what kind of town are you from?”The tourist said, “Well, in the town where I’m from everyone is very critical of each other. The neighbors all gossip about everyone, and it’s a really negative place to live. I’m sure glad to be leaving. It is not a very cheerful place.”The old man in the chair looked at the stranger and said, “You know, that’s just how this town is.”An hour or so later, a family that was also passing through stopped for gas. The mother jumped out with two small children and went into the restroom. The father also got out of the car and, he too, struck up a conversation with the old man. “So,” he asked, “Is this town a pretty good place to live?” The old man in the chair replied, “Tell me about the town you’re from. How is it?”The father looked at him and said, “Well, in the town we’re from everyone is very close and always willing to lend their neighbor a helping hand. There’s always a hello and thank you everywhere you go. I really hate to leave. It’s almost like we are leaving family.” The older man gave him a warm smile. “You know, that’s a lot like this town.” Then the family returned to the car, waved goodbye and drove away.After the car disappeared in the distance, the boy looked up at his grandfather and asked, “Grandpa, how come when the first man came into our town you told him it was a terrible place to live, but when the family came into town you told them it was a wonderful place to live?” The grandfather looked down at his grandson and said, “Because, sonny, no matter where you move, you take your attitude with you – that’s what makes it terrible or wonderful.”
