On Bishop Declane's Lenten Pastoral Letter
February 2006
‘Jesus replied, “surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot fast while the bridegroom is still with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then, on that day, they will fast.'
“Nobody puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins too. No! New wine into fresh skins!' (Today's gospel).
I am so glad, reading our bishop's Lenten Pastoral Letter, that he is concentrating on really important things (read it again on the diocesan web site).
We have been subjected for so many years (and I have been one of the subjectors) to the knee jerk exhortations to fast, abstain and do sundry other things (the more difficult and painful the better) to try and counteract our `sinfulness.' If we read the history of the early church (Acts) we find that they often made the mistake of pouring the `new wine' of Christianity into the `old wineskins' of Judaism. We still make the same mistake to this day such as giving God, Our Loving Father, a bad name. We portray Him as the severe Judge who visits condemnation and punishment on those of his children who disregard or disobey His many rules and regulations. We make him a `God' of anger and revenge. We spend so much time and energy trying to `appease' Him!
Christianity frees us from fear and brings us joy and freedom. All too often we besmirch it with false Old Testament attitudes.
Our focus during Lent (and at other times as well) should be on doing good rather than avoiding evil. For example, if I want a nice front garden I achieve this, not by just trying to keep it clear of weeds, but by concentrating on the planting and cultivation of flowers and ornamental shrubs. As the latter grow and flourish there is less and less room available for the growth and spread of weeds.
Our Bishop suggests a couple of good, wholesome, happy things we can do during Lent. So what about doing something about it?