a place at the table.

  so lent is wednesday. and with lent comes some ambiguity.  i for one never was in a sermon or class that properly explained the spiritual discipline of fasting or lent.  and so i count myself as a student of the spiritual practice but i wanted to share some of what i've learned and a little challenge.
  i have been reading the book "a place at the table" by chris seay.  it is focused on fasting for lent (see the correlation with this post??) and the corresponding purpose.  the first four chapters are focused on background and then there is 40 different daily readings and prayers to accompany the lent or fasting season.  so here is some of my highlights from the first four chapters

• the first chapter is moving from a idea of consuming to sharing.  there are stats that show the average young adult spends more money on their phone than food.  yet 22,000 children die each day due to extreme poverty.  as Christians who are called to love the least of these, poverty isn't some imaginary problem but our (the Church's) problem.  now what is unique to this book is that seay doesn't take this statistic with others to bludgeon Christians into giving away half our income.  while that isn't a poor conclusion to come to, practically bills, loans, life adds up to and we get lost in how to practically help the poor. so seay suggests fasting as a method to relate and care for the poor.
• seay paraphrases augustine to suggest that if we pass on dinner or skip a meal, do not simply leave that food in cupboard but instead give the portion to someone who has none.  
• in the developing world 28% of children are underweight or have stunted growth while in the industralized world the problem lies with near one in two people being overweight or obese. 
• "it is not hard to do the math and know that what the world needs right now is for Christians in the industralized world to take less and share more, as the passage from Isaiah (chapter 58) demands"
• i realized while listening to seay's thoughts that i often do not appreciate food.  i take joy in eating great food much less having nice possessions.  we live in a time in which everything stimulates us, so why shouldn't our food stimulate our taste buds.  but food is a daily blessing, as is evidenced by so many having a lack of it.  
• so while fasting, the goal is not to be undernurished, overtired or faint.  if anything that borders on what Jesus commanded to never do in Matthew 6:16.  
• simple ways to fast is to take on the food of a region close to your heart, or eating the food that would be provided on food stamps, or simply eating less than usual but still enough.  and with those changes in diet, do something around those causes.  
• find a community to fast with because we don't need to do it alone.  

so i hope that adaquately portrays my thoughts on this season's lent.  i'm all for lent seasons focused on things not food related like giving up social media or tv or whatever but i think that as Christians called to care for the poor and hungry, the least we can do is try to relate.  enjoy lent season and let me know if you are participating with me.