Letter from Clare
My knowledge of the Second World War is at best sketchy, as one who read history at university it is "definitely not my period". So I was interested to read about an aspect of the Nazi regime that I didn't know about and the promise it held out to an impoverished and demoralised nation, with over 5 million people unemployed. One of the main aims was a hunger relief programme that included a weekly fast day when people were encouraged to limit themselves to a "one pot" meal; the money saved to go to the hungry.
The tradition of fasting during Lent and abstaining from meat on Fridays were a defining mark of Catholicism from a very early time and into living memory, though the observance of such is now a memory rather than a reality for most of us Catholic and Protestant.
Fasting was an important element in the Jewish tradition of the Old Testament and we have New Testament accounts of fasting in the life of Christ. Fasting is still a crucial defining mark of Islam, during the month of Ramadan, and is accompanied by Zakat, a generous giving to the poor.
However in our modern, so called "developed" world, fasting is now seldom referred to, but dieting fills countless pages of print, and is even the subject of so called "celebrity" TV programmes and numerous advertisements. There is a shift here in consciousness, from a corporate community undertaking with spiritual and moral rationale, even in Nazi Germany, to an individualised, private and personal activity.
This shift typifies for me, something of the change we are undergoing in our world, from community based living to personalised lifestyle.
The Christian Church is however called to be "counter cultural", and Lent with its traditional emphasis on fasting gives us the opportunity to be different. The VEG4LENT initiative is promoted by the Christian Vegetarian Society, drawing our attention to issues of animal welfare and to a reflection on a Creator God. The "Living Wage" initiative calls upon Christians during Lent to identify with the plight of those in our own country who live on the minimum wage and to engage in a disciplined lifestyle, living on the minimum wage for the period of Lent, and giving the difference between our normal income and that of the minimum wage to charity. Other charitable organisations ask you to "live simply, so that others may simply live", which perhaps will mean a change in diet or a period of fasting, in order that a contribution can be made to those for whom hunger is a daily reality.
Lent began on Feb 25th, but it's never too late to start, and your action could make a significant difference to the life of another person. Easter eggs taste a lot better after a period of abstinence!!
Clare