forty-some days without meat?

We'll be tucking into the subject of compassionate eating more next week, specifically the importance of seeking out humanely raised meat and other animal products.  And down the road we'll pick up the theme again with other faithful options, including various degrees of vegetarianism. 

But with Lent beginning today or this past Monday for many Catholic and Orthodox Christians, an ever growing number of Protestants and Evangelicals are looking to honor in some way the ancient Christian period of fasting leading up to Easter as well (see an informative and encouraging review of the practice by Rev. Ken Collins).  The first traditions have typically included abstaining from meat in their fasting; in some cases seafood is permitted, and in other fasting even non-flesh animal products are avoided as well.  But I wonder if many of us Reformation descendants consider fasting from meat or other animal products in any capacity as a legitimate, even vibrant, way of honoring Lent?     

Christian author and Environmentalist Tracey Bianchi has a great reflection on the possibility which she posted on her blog The Green Mama yesterday:

"Today, (Lent) is sort of a self help gig for many.  I confess to using Lent as a way to prepare for swimsuit season.  What could it hurt to skip all the sweets in the name of Jesus? ...

So this year, I’ve got a new idea for Lent.  It is based on the history of the church.  I’m skipping meat altogether, for all of Lent.   For many reasons.  Most of which are, of course, rooted in my love of God’s Creation. ...

And, since raising beef and other meat places a heavy burden on our ecosystems, and because it is considerably kinder to the planet if I eat grain and vegetable products, I’m going to skip it altogether for this season. ("Faaaat Tuesday!")

See Tracey's post "Bratwurst" for more on that last theme, including the 'green' benefits of giving up meat just one day a week.  We have a few posts on the environmental implications of industrially raised animal products as well, not to mention the incredibly harsh realities of factory farming for the millions of animals involved.  Melchiades Lozano left an excellent comment on the latter, and Lent in general, on our Facebook page:

I don't think it's 'uniquely' an eastern Orthodox perspective, but as i remember one of our priests reminding us at the start of Great Lent, it's not so much about "giving up," but rather "taking on."  It is a time of renewal, purification and a way of "changing one's heart" (metanoia in Greek, which is translated 'repentance').  If one sees the 'positive' reasons for "giving up" meat based on compassion, then perhaps it can truly be a change of heart - metanoia.

Finally, it's interesting that Rev. Collins notes: "By observing the forty days of Lent, the individual Christian imitates Jesus’ withdrawal into the wilderness for forty days."  Of Jesus' withdrawal, the gospel of Mark says, "he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan.  He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him" (1:13, NIV).  It reminded me of something I'd read from Andrew Linzey:

Richard Bauckham has recently argued that the context in which this verse should be understood is messianic in orientation.  Jesus is shown to be in continuity with the Isaianic tradition in seeing the messianic age as bringing about a reconciliation between nature and humanity.  If this is true, it may be that Mark is seeking to demonstrate how the gospel of Jesus has implications for the whole of the created world and harmony within the animal world in particular. (Andrew Linzey, Animal Theology, 135-36 (U. of Illinois '95); Linzey is referencing a Bauckham lecture, and Isaiah 11 & 65)

(Many thanks to Sojourners' blog for reminding me of Mark 1, which together with Tracey's reflection prompted this post; photos © Cathy Yeulet & Noam Armonn/123rf.com.  Also see the UK site Veg4Lent.  For more on my wife and I's positive experience with giving up meat for Lent, albeit imperfectly, please see "A Compassionate New Year's Resolution.")

Comments

[Ben DeVries]

By the way, Robin Lane of the UK-based Christian Alliance for Love and Fellowship has a great reflection on this subject at St. Stephen's Church of South Dulwich - Ben