By Fr Mathew Thankachen, O.Praem —
Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving are the three pillars of the season of Lent. Truly, these ought to make men to bend, repent, reminding the ephemeral nature of bodily existence here on earth with the exhortation, “Man, dust indeed thou are and indeed dust thou shall return”, and so, “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” thus, triggering for life eternity.
And no wonder, Prophet Joel exhorts in this season to “tear the heart”. Today, the significance of Lent is watered down. Slackness is experienced in every walk of life including fasting and Sunday obligation and now COVID-19 rubs salt to the wounds. Anything and everything becomes “moral” when it serves one’s convenience whether in religion or politics seems the rule of the day. If at all, one makes a serious decision in life to mend one’s ways, it lasts only until Good Friday and gives in “double the loss made up for” the rest of the year.
Just as the Satan did to Jesus at the ‘Mount Temptation ‘by quoting God’s own words to tempt Jesus (Lk 4), some Christians in our times employ Jesus’s own words from the Bible to justify the negligence of fasting and other catholic traditions. I found many people who once were poor, having educated by the help of the Church one way or the other, neglect the tradition of the Church and Sacraments. If encountered, they would politely justify saying, “God would hear their prayer, even if they pray at home” and similar attitude is shown in fasting too. One begins to wonder, how men become so arid and faithless, forgetting their past?
I find the extremities practiced by two branches of Semitic religions – Islam and Christians. The Islam is so “strict” that they compel even their little ones to fast, until the time of “breaking the fast”. The Christians, on the other, justifies in making “revelry” with an attitude as if “why to fast when the bridegroom is with us”? although some senior citizens, and women-folk observe them strictly. Some don’t find much meaning in “external observances” and might justify with the same words of Jesus, “when you fast… comb your hair, wash your face… don’t be like the Pharisee…, close your door., your father will reward who sees your interiority “and so on. (Mt.6,16ff) They become morally liberal, giving rise to “moral relativism” and “wavering values” which may gradually annihilate the value of fasting and prayer from the posterity, besides bearing counter- witness to other Semitic groups. This kind of attitude has given rise to “spirituality without religion” in Semitic religions and “Thandra without Mandhra” (spirituality without rituals) in the cosmic religions.
A deeper search into the life and message of Jesus shows that he was emphasizing “interiority”, nevertheless at the cost of exteriority” all through his teachings. He only reacted against the extreme “show off” and “exhibition” of Religious piety existed in the external forum while altogether neglecting the internal disposition of love and charity.
However, Jesus never meant to annihilate external forum or observation in the pretext of internal disposition. So, Jesus said, “I haven’t come to annihilate a letter of the law, rather to fulfill it” (Mt.5,17) as the Antiphon goes, “Love is the fullness of Law”. It is a wrong interpretation to present Jesus as a man exhorting “internal forum only”. When the internal disposition is displayed in the external forum, it bears witness to a value. In the philosophical concept it is said, “As a being, so it acts”.
As a Jew, his parents and he performed many rituals and Jewish customs of the day (Lk.2,22ff..). For instance, we never find any old Testament custom of ‘Baptism’ ever existed until John the Baptist. Yet, despite objection from John, the Baptist, Jesus receives Baptism at Jordan as many Jews did receive in his days. He too visited Jerusalem Temple every year for the Festivals.
It appears Jesus “justifies violation of many existed customs like “washing hands before meals, eating grains on the days of fasting etc. In fact, he was questioning the ‘pharisaic attitude of paying absolute value of hardheartedness of such observances” at the cost of “compassion and love” towards the fellow men. This ‘law of love’ is further clarified when he is questioned for violating the Sabbath laws with a counter question from his side, “what is right? “saving life or destroying life, doing good or doing evil?”.
There are parents who are not able to express their love to children and yet they sincerely love them. However, the children may grow up as “anti- social “since they haven’t experienced their affection through their external behavior. In a similar way, it is useless to argue on “interiority” while not able to express in the exterior forum. As a matter of fact, fasting, abstinence and prayer are the expression of the internal replica of Christ- identity within, in need of some forms of external expression.
Fasting as the very word stands in Indian language, “upvasa” is much richer etymology, viz “stay, live, reside, indwell very close to the master, rather experience the indwelling of the Master”. This presence of the Divine master within (image and likeness of God) is the best realized and shine forth when the bodily passion is disciplined through abnegation of desires.
Hence, these pillars are the means to an end and the end is “the self – identification with Divine presence, rather experience of the Divine presence within” which itself is a “prayer, commune of the “self” with God and neighbor. This was precisely what Jesus did in his ‘Desert experience” (eremos) after the Baptism. Every mortification defeats the “designs of the ego”, leading to “selflessness”, altruism, solidarity with the hungry, bending down like a tree in due season, “laden with fruits”. It is a natural law that every change of season “purifies” nature and mankind of his diseases, painful though they are with cold and cough, gradually building up the “immunity” in the body. Analogically, Lenten season is a period for “shedding old leaves” of pride and egoism only but to produce tender leaves of humility, compassion and charity. It is a time to “Bend and Lend” to God and for one another.