When recently reading up on traditions to partake in during the season of Lent, I more than once came across the interesting phrase, ‘a renewed vigor.’ There are three traditional practices that many Christians throughout the Church world put into practice in order to prepare themselves for Holy Week and the day of Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. These practices to be taken up with renewed vigor during Lent are: prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and giving (justice towards neighbor). To me the phrase renewed vigor implies that there was an existing vigorous approach toward these traditions of prayer, fasting and almsgiving in the lives of Christians. To give the word vigor more weight, words used to describe vigor are: intensity, resilient strength, validity and effectiveness. This made me question: are my existing everyday prayers, acts of self-denial and giving – vigorous, intense or valid? Can they even be measured, should they be measured?
Regarding prayer: the Holy Spirit doesn’t necessarily answer our prayers in ways that we expect or in ways that our limited minds can comprehend the reasoning behind. Regarding fasting: depending on your act of self denial this might be the most measurable and results based. But fasting in a way that exemplifies that fact that you’re fasting goes against the purpose of fasting. (see Isaiah 58:2-4). Regarding giving: this practice is personally measurable. You can see the money leave your bank account; you can feel your tired body after a time of volunteering. I find the act of giving to be the most fascinating. Rarely do you ever truly know the measurements of your giving. A Sunday School teacher can often feel exhausted after class and feel that all their work was done in vain. Feelings of ‘it seems like they are never listening!’ and ‘half the time I’m asking them to sit back down, and constantly having to repeat myself.’ Yet for those of us who were in Sunday School, many remember those teachers and the love they demonstrated. I still remember my first Sunday School teacher Mrs. Kay and how much I enjoyed being in her classroom. The monetary giving we participate in, often feels like a drop in the bucket. Especially when giving to needs overseas, how will I ever know it’s getting there? What you might not know is a person’s life might completely change because of your $50 donation that bought their family a goat. Now that their family has income, school is an option, and it wasn’t before. Education of children is a crucial element in overcoming poverty.
If that vigor is not there, how do we discover that it? I believe what might rob us of knowing and experiencing that vigor is when we get caught up and too focused on the outcome of the practice we are participating in. The hopeful (and sometimes selfish) results of these practices shouldn’t overcome the beauty of the process and journey we go on when we participate.
When I think of Jesus and what I know of His life, I realize that he had to experience the process and journey too. He knew that God would be faithful through the process and faithful at the end of the process. Isaiah chapter 9 is titled Hope in the Messiah and there is a great anticipation of God’s promises in this chapter. The chapter ends with the statement, “The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!” The Lord is passionate about his commitment towards us! In return we should also be passionate and vigorous in our prayer, fasting and giving. Pray with great faith, fast with faith and a reliant spirit and give faithfully, honestly and generously. And enjoy Christ’s Passion for you with a renewed vigor.
Youth Department