Manali Missives 12/2014 An Indian Journey through Lent Day 10

An Indian Journey through Lent, Day 10

In the traditions with which I have been most closely associated - Australian Methodist and Uniting, and Swedish Lutheran - fasting & abstinence, the third of Rev Weitzel’s Lenten Disciplines, is discussed with reluctance, even resentment. “What has doing without food to do with spiritual edification?” people wonder, often, in Sweden at least, as they tuck into another delicious “fastlagsbulle”, a cardamom-spiced wheat bun which has its top cut off, and is then filled with a mix of milk and almond paste, topped with whipped cream. The cut-off top serves as both a lid and a spoon, and is dusted with powdered sugar. Wow! This is the wonderful Swedish version of what to eat on Shrove Tuesday. No wonder it’s also eaten from shortly after Christmas until after Easter!

But fasting, which has provided the Swedish name for Lent, “Fastan”, has its important place too. It provides both body and soul with an opportunity to get rid of poisons. I can’t say that I enjoy fasting, but it also provides a constant reminder that I have given myself to God, and an admission that God is my Provider. Further, it marks a simplification of my life that helps me to focus upon God, the very purpose of Lent. Two analogies may help. I am never so content as when I’m out hiking, carrying a bare minimum. And, when I wrote this there had been no power all day, and no likelihood of its being restored for most of tomorrow. Last time this happened the temperature in our flat sank to 8°C. The only source of light was from my computer. Some might say this is a form of abstinence that earns Lena and me points on some Lenten scale of virtue. For others the discomfort and inconvenience might make it harder to focus upon God. In that matrix lies a huge discussion which I shall continue in a couple of days. For me, however, the lack of warmth and light remind me that they are usually present and unremarked upon, they help me to focus upon God, the Provider of all good things, and they remind me of the many people around the world who never have what we occasionally, perforce, abstain from.