Skip to main content

Bring on the Doughnuts!

This is a re-post from a couple of years ago. My feelings on Fat Tuesday haven't changed much. Enjoy the paczki (doughnuts times two), but also prepare for the coming season. 
I’ve been thinking about something. It all started with a paczki. What’s a paczki? You might know what one is, but didn’t realize it was spelled this way. It’s pronounced poonch-key. Still confused? It’s the delightful ‘doughnut on steroids’ that only comes out on Fat Tuesday. I look forward to it every year. I may be guilty of forgetting Valentine’s Day, but I don’t forget Fat Tuesday. I celebrate it.
But celebrating Fat Tuesday was never meant to be a 1-day affair. Of course, Fat Tuesday comes right before Lent, the season that seems to have lost all meaning except for giving up stuff. What we see is many people celebrating Fat Tuesday without celebrating Lent.
This is a problem.
First of all, is it celebrating when you give something up? This may just be semantics, but every time I celebrate something, there seems to be dessert involved. We have cake for birthdays, candy for Halloween, pie for Thanksgiving and cookies for the end of each day. That last one may just be me.
Secondly, and more importantly, why are we so unwilling to ride the ups and downs of the roller coaster? Celebrating Fat Tuesday is easy. Buy a paczki, or three, and you’re all set. You could probably get a handful of friends, at least, to join you. But pass out flyers asking people to join you in giving up something for 40 days and see how well that goes over.
I have 3 ideas that may make your invites a bit more inviting.
Get a proper focus
This isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus. Paul wrote that we are not to “let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17).
When we observe the practice of Lent, we acknowledge that we have excess in our lives that we can get rid of, at least temporarily. We do so to turn more of our attention to Jesus. It is most properly due at this time as we look ahead to Easter.
Plan ahead
For many years I would remember it was Lent when, on the first day of Lent, a friend would ask me what I was giving up that year. D’oh! Then I would panic and give up the first thing that came to mind. A couple of hours later I would want to change my mind but would feel too guilty. So then I would feel stuck. I could either feel guilty about reversing my decision or I could feel guilty about sulking over what I didn’t have. I don’t think God wanted either of those options.
So now I plan ahead, considering what would be a benefit to my spiritual growth. By giving it more than 5 minutes worth of thought, I was able to allow time for God to tell me what He wanted to do. Then I could walk through Lent feeling good about my decisions and understanding the overall goal.
Celebrate the 'Loss'
Once you have done #1 and 2, it’s time to realize this is a celebration as well. Lent is not something to do with just your serious side. Remember that Jesus warned against looking ‘somber as the hypocrites do’ (Matthew 6:16). Not only do you lose your reward this way, but you forget the overall goal.
Consider this, even when we experience the ‘loss’ of a friend or family member, we ‘celebrate’ their memory at a funeral. The loss is not eternal, so celebrate the way it is helping you grow.
I believe it is possible to celebrate both Fat Tuesday and Lent. You just can’t do both with a paczki.
So there you have it. It’s not a comprehensive list, but it’s mine. What would you add to it?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Accountable

I recently officiated a wedding. The ceremony was simple, lovely, and ended with another couple professing to keep the covenant of marriage. But it all started with a clarification...from me. At our first premarital counseling session, as I have done with every couple I have agreed to marry, I clarified a couple of matters. First, I officiate Christian weddings, where both spouses-to-be are professing Christians. I firmly believe that marriage is difficult enough, without adding disagreements about God into the mix. Second, as a minister of Jesus Christ, I believe the pastor’s role in a wedding is to represent the blessing of God on that union. So we have several sessions of premarital counseling where we discuss married life. It’s not that I have this imaginary card in my head, with a picture of me on the front and my stats on the back. (You know, like a baseball card.) Ok, I do picture cards. Pastor cards! And being a competitive guy, I want my stats to look good. The number of coupl
Post a Comment
Read more

Patience

I am more than halfway through the last year of dropping one of my children off at school. It's my eighth grade daughter, for anyone keeping track of my family.  See, next year she will be at the high school, and her brother will drive her. He says that it's not cool for seniors to drive their freshman sister to school, but I bet it's cooler than being dropped off by your mom in a minivan.  So rather than groan about this daily responsibility, I've been reminiscing about what the drop-off line used to look like, way back in elementary school. Once our children were about halfway through their elementary years, the drop-off line became a test of patience.  Do you know which group you do not want to get caught behind in the parent drop-off line at an elementary school? The kindergartners. These little ones are barely able to walk, but now we put them in the high-pressure situation of trying to unbuckle their seat-belt, grab their backpack (which might be as tall as they a
Post a Comment
Read more

Jury Duty

I was recently summoned to jury duty. I know, groan. Except I didn't. I had never experienced it before and was curious to see what it was like.   When the day to report arrives, they separate you into groups, asking various questions to decide if you will be selected to serve. Do you know the accused? Do you have conflicts that would keep you from serving? Can you stay focused?  I wanted to answer well, if only because my kids kept wishing me luck the day before, telling me they hoped I made the team. After all, who wants to be rejected? It occurred to me that there are things you probably shouldn’t say right away if you’re wanting to serve on a jury. I know, I know, people don’t typically want to serve on a jury. But that list didn’t seem nearly as humorous to me. Here are the things you probably shouldn’t say if you want to be selected for jury. I hold myself in contempt. You can’t handle the truth. We find the defendant guilty. I believe the judge looks pretty in his robe. I’d
Post a Comment
Read more