Wednesday, March 01, 2006
last (soulfood) supper
Well, today is Ash Wednesday... the beginning of Lent season. This time of year always brings mixed feelings for me, both because of events in my life and its nearness to Easter. Even though I grew up in a Christian family, we never had any traditions we celebrated during Lent season (like most Protestants in America). After I met a couple of Catholic kids at public school (most of 'em Filipino), I learned that there is a long history of Lent traditions in Christianity, most notably in the realm of fasting - the abstaining from certain activities, especially eating of certain foods. It wasn't until I was in high school and college that I began to understand the spiritual motivations behind fasting...
... So for the past 7 years or so of my life, I've strived to always recognize the holiness of the Lent season by reflecting on something in my life that would hurt to give up while at the same time using the time or resources gained from that sacrifice for practicing a spiritual discipline. Thinking about the past year in my life, I realize ironically that discipline is exactly what I've been lacking. My bible study is currently reading Foster's Celebration of Discipline, and I can hear my inner voice in the back of my head doing its worst Ahhhnold impression: You lack discipline! In my the doldrums of the past few years, I've slacked off and neglected both my physical health AND my spiritual health - and yes, I believe they're connected. With that in mind, this Lent I've decided to do the following: -Because of my love for eating, I will be completely abstaining from eating beef, chicken, pork, and other derived meat products such as bacon, sausage, and... SPAM *moan*. -For the sake of protein, milk, eggs, and fish will be OK. -Devote myself to daily to at least one continuous and undisturbed time of prayer, with focus on:
The teacher in me is almost tempted to call these (spiritual) learning targets. I'm not attempting all of this as some sort of masochistic ritual of flagellation, nor am I writing about this just to create a public spectacle... I guess blogging about this is just my own way of keeping myself accountable and avoiding the pitfalls of a lazy spiritual life that relies on cheap grace. Like Bonhoeffer wrote, a true disciple avoids cheap grace and understands that costly nature of living a truly spiritual life... ... So what did I eat for my last meal of meat? Well, you can't beat Ezell's, Seattle's finest fried chicken - fried chicken, sweet biscuits, fresh beans and coleslaw... Oprah used to have the stuff sent to her in Chicago. The last soulfood I'll be eating until Good Friday, 2006... until then, I'll have to subsist on a different kind of soulfood. |
Comments:
i don't know about u, but fish is yum.
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i'm a meateater, so i think that would be tough for me too. soul food is yum food. nothing like some fried chicken and mash. -f |
in?scrip?tion (n-skrip-shun)n.
the facts.
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