Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.  Many people will be giving up something for the next forty days. For some this is a tradition they often follow, for others this is a deliberate spiritual discipline. The three things most often given up are: chocolate, alcohol and meat. This year, it seems like Facebook and other social media will be joining the list for many people.

You might scoff at the tradition of marking Lent by giving up luxuries like desserts or the internet. But many have found this practise of fasting to be very liberating. We get stuck in unhelpful patterns of behaviour and fill our lives with things that distract us from our true purpose and calling.  Fasting can help to break those patterns.

The point is not to give up temporarily something that we know is wrong – gossip, lying and addictions, as this website suggests. We should stop doing those things for ever, not celebrate the resurrection of Jesus by starting them up again. But the point of fasting is to give up something that is usually good, but may be getting in the way of our devotion to God.

The Psalmist wrote,

‘As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.’ (Psalm 42:1,2)

Does your longing for God even come near to this passion and intensity? Do you feel huge pain and longing when you miss church, prayer or bible reading.

Try missing a meal and your desire for food will affect everything – you’ll get grumpy, impatient and generally pretty horrible to spend time with. You’ll be desperate for a chocolate biscuit! Sadly, we do not usually have that same desperation when we fail to spend time with God. Fasting – deliberately going without something comfortable – can remind us of our deepest needs and bring us back to God.  It is not a magic remedy to fix your walk with Jesus, but can be a useful tool in growing in your commitment to him.

Jim Packer writes,

In Scripture we see several purposes for fasting. It’s part of the discipline of self-control; it’s a way of sharing that we depend on God alone and draw all our strength and resources from him; it’s a way of focusing totally on him when seeking his guidance and help, and of showing that you really are in earnest in your quest; it’s also, at times, an expression of sorrow and deep repentance, something that a person or community will do in order to acknowledge failure before God and seek his mercy.

We tend to think of fasting as going without food. But we can fast from anything. If we love music and decide to miss a concert in order to spend time with God, that is fasting. It is helpful to think of the parallel of human friendship. When friends need to be together, they will cancel all other activities in order to make that possible. There’s nothing magical about fasting. It’s just one way of telling God that your priority at that moment is to be alone with him, sorting out whatever is necessary, and you have cancelled the meal, party, concert, or whatever else you had planned to do in order to fulfill that priority.

James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986, p. 14.

The forty days of Lent begin today and conclude on Maundy Thursday. (The six Sundays are not counted because each one represents a “mini-Easter” – celebrating that Jesus rose on the first day of the week.)

The number forty appears quite a lot in the Bible.  It usually means something like ‘the full amount of time’.   So,

• God sent 40 days and 40 nights of rain to cause a great flood from which he saved Noah – a consequence of the sin of the world.
• Noah had to wait 40 days for the flood to subside.
• Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai receiving the 10 commandments.
• The Israelites spent 40 years wandering in the desert – as a consequence of their lack of faith in God.
• Through Jonah, God gave the Ninevites 40 days to repent.
• After his baptism, Jesus was tempted for 40 days in the desert, before he began his ministry.
• After his resurrection, Jesus spent 40 days on earth before he ascended.

(And there are lots more too.)

So, 40 days is a pretty good amount of time to give in preparation for something.  How will you be preparing for Good Friday and Easter Sunday this year?

A night of snow made St Giles look even more picturesque than usual. Here are some photos. If you have more, email them to the church office office [at] stokepogeschurch.org.

About eleven years ago Mike Smith and Peter Wilkinson had a good idea – a club for the over 55s. The idea won the support of the PCC and many others and thus the Supper Club was born.

It has now been running for TEN YEARS. Those ten years have seen many different things – many lovely meals, some special choral Evensongs and last Summer the sad death of Mike Smith (co-founder).

A special anniversary meal took place in Februrary to celebrate ten years of shared fellowship. The Club meets bi-monthly throughout the year to share a meal and fellowship together.

Every two months we publish a parish magazine, containing articles and information to help us all in our Christian walk. Today sees the publication of this month’s magazine, kindly edited by Richard Beckingsale.

Copies will be available at church on Sunday, in the Coffee Shop and will be delivered to some over the coming week.

Download it here

Parish Magazine Feb-Mar 2012