Lent is, among other things, a time of abstinence, but with a purpose. An opportunity to reset. Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, is traditionally a day for fasting.
Being a smallholder helps promote a deeper respect and understanding of food and what it takes to produce it. In modern societies it is easy to regard food somewhat casually, as an uncontested resource, because of its abundance and the ease by which it is available. This is not the case, of course, in poorer economies where feeding the family is a daily challenge. Nor, sadly, in rich economies like ours where there is poverty in the midst of plenty. For some, fasting is unavoidable.
It helps to be reminded that food is not something to take for granted. A famous Tang Dynasty poem by Li Shen (772-846) succinctly sums this up.
Pity the farmer
Hoeing grains at noon,
Sweat dripping into the soil beneath.
Who knows the food on your plate,
Grain by grain, came from hard work?
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| Image: www.guwenxuexi.com! |
Lent is not a time for misery, though. It coincides with the peak season for new life and re-growth, and looking forward to reaping new harvests. This is especially evident on the smallholding at this time of year. As the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, "First comes the fast, then comes the feast".
For more Pause for Lent reflections go to Angela's Tracing Rainbows blog.
Lent as both abstinence and abundance! It is that time when, in the past, winter stores were running low and the next harvest was a future hope.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right Kirsten!
DeleteThank you for this, Philip. I love the line "Lent is not a time for misery". You live so much closer to the land than most of us, and I love the idea of Lent being a peak time for new life and re growth. Fasting, then feasting, as you say!
ReplyDeleteThank you Ang.
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