Shrove Tuesday
12/02/13 05:29
There are holidays that arise from careful planning and there are those that arise almost as a reaction to the plans of officials. Today is one of those reaction holidays. Shrove Tuesday has a lot of different names around the world: Pancake Tuesday, Marti Gras, (which means Fat Tuesday), Fastnacht Day, Sprengidagur (bursting day), Laskiainen and Carnival.
There are a lot of traditions that have grown up with the day that involve eating. Pancakes probably top the list. But pea soup with sweet buns filled with whipped cream are part of the celebration in some traditions. Races, parades, children’s games and even “mob football” games are parts of the tradition in various parts of the world.
The origins of the festival may be a bit obscured by the passage of time, but the traditions of the day area all related to the penance and somber mood of the season of Lent that begins tomorrow with Ash Wednesday. It was common, in former times, for sugar and butter to be seen as luxuries and indulgences that are not appropriate for the season of Lent and a feast to consume these items before the beginning of Lent was a part of the process of getting ready for the season. Traditions and rituals of cleaning homes, and especially kitchen cupboards come from ancient times and precede the formal observances of Lent, but were incorporated into the Christian calendar as the church extended its influence upon popular culture.
The tradition of spring cleaning is formalized in the Orthodox tradition of Clean Monday, also known as Pure Monday or Ash Monday. The idea is that the home is cleaned of all non-fasting foods while the faithful empty their lives of sinful attitudes in preparation for the imposition of ashes.
However it is named and however it is observed, there is something a bit strange about the practice of piling up all of the forbidden foods and some of the forbidden attitudes and behaviors in preparation for a time of self-examination, fasting, and penance. I doubt if church leaders intended for people to prepare for confession by going out and committing behaviors about which to confess.
Still, I admit that I have used the season of Lent as a discipline to change my eating habits. A few days of fasting and a season of paying very careful attention to what foods I eat does help me keep my weight in control. And there is a connection between caring for one’s body and caring for one’s spiritual life, though you certainly can’t take it so far as to measure a person’s spiritual health by their body mass index.
Christians have an aversion to too much show in relationship to the practices of Lent. In Matthew 6:16-18, Jesus says, “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
The season of penance should not be about outward appearances and the things that are done to gain the attention of others, but about the inward changes.
We live in a culture that seems to have an aversion to penance. I know of a significant local business where employees are carefully trained never to apologize to the public. The words “I’m sorry,” and “We made a mistake,” are never to be said in conversation with those the business serves. There is a great fear in the administration that such terms might lead to lawsuits. Admission of any wrong is to be avoided at all times, even when a mistake has clearly been made. In place of the apology, those who work with consumers are taught to offer suggestions on what the consumer can do to correct the situation.
It may be good business. But it is a terrible view of human nature. The assumption that every apology would be greeted with revenge is simply wrong. The assertion that one should never say “I’m sorry,” presents a view of the nature of humans and the institutions we form that is, at its core, in accurate. We humans do make mistakes. Our mistakes do have consequences for ourselves and for others. An apology is the first step in setting things right.
Shrove Tuesday isn’t a big day in my calendar. We will have a modest pancake supper at the church tomorrow before our Ash Wednesday service, but the meal is more about gathering together for fellowship than about cleansing the church kitchen. Spring cleaning is a good practice and we’ve been engaged in a little of it in preparation for the visit of our children at the end of the week. But my preparations for Lent are more internal than external.
Lent involves a lot of work for a pastor. We have special services to plan, additional work to do. We usually add studies to the season and Holy Week is an intense time that involves less sleep for church leaders. But it all is part of the rhythm of our seasons and our way of life inside the church. It makes sense to me for us to think over the past year, to note the mistakes we have made and the changes that are needed. Then the hard work of offering those apologies and making those changes needs to be pursued.
Today is a good day to begin. No need to stuff my belly in anticipation of lean days ahead. Instead, I’ll pursue the long process of cleaning out, of sifting and sorting, of letting go of those things that encumber me and hold me back. I’ll examine my past and anticipate my future. The rituals and ceremonies of Ash Wednesday remind me of my own mortality. My time is not unlimited. There is an urgency about getting my affairs in order.
I’m happy to leave the parades and parties to others. There is no escaping our common mortality and our shared need to take stock. We will journey together despite moments of difference.
May your Lenten journey be blessed this year.