Disciple: Disciplining the Body for the Soul
Thoughts on Lent
By The Rev. Steve Rice
The Rev. Steve Rice, rector at St. Timothy’s, Winston-Salem, shares his insights into the traditional Lenten practices of fasting, abstinence and observing the Daily Office and how they carry throughout the liturgical year.
Eight months ago I fulfilled a promise to myself by entering a nondescript metal building to meet a man whose name, as told to me on the phone, is EZE. I thought I was joining another gym and EZE, for 12 sessions, would be my assigned personal trainer. What I didn’t know at the time is that the nondescript metal building is the home of the current world record holder in powerlifting who once held the pound-for-pound powerlifting world record. Had I known that then, I might not have entered.
EZE, I learned, is short for Ezechukwu, the name of a 25-year-old Nigerian-American bodybuilder. As one of his oldest clients, I provide him with constant entertainment, but we have developed a unique relationship that focuses on both body and soul. I ask him questions about the human body, and he asks me questions about the human soul. Together, a robust theology has emerged, one that is not new, although perhaps neglected, and that is firmly rooted in the Bible and the tradition of the Church.
It may be a cliché, but I think there is profound truth in the statement “God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to let us stay that way.” The Good News of great joy for all people is that God does love us. Each of us. But that Good News extends further to the promise that there is more for us and more expected of us. Stability is a holy virtue, but stagnation is not. The goal given to us is holiness. That may sound like too heavy a burden to bear. Our thoughts may immediately run through images of Mother Theresa, Ignatius of Loyola or Teresa of Avila. How could we ever live up to their example? A natural, and understandable, reaction is not even to try.
I had a similar reaction upon meeting EZE. At our first meeting, he asked what my goals were. Seeking to add levity to this David and Goliath scene, I said, “I want to look like you.” For the Christian, the question is the same. In the traditional baptismal liturgy, the priest asks the parents of the child or the adult candidate “What do you seek?” What do you want? What are you looking for? This was the question Our Lord asked Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, “Whom do you seek?” (John 20.15 RSV). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, our answer is Jesus. I want to be like Jesus. Lord, I want to look like you. [Photo: EZE, Rice’s trainer, with Rice’s son, Luke.]
In our journey toward holiness, to being like Our Lord, we must not neglect our bodies. It was Plato who viewed our bodies as containers for our souls, not Thomas Aquinas, not Augustine and certainly not Jesus. The human person is the union of body and soul. What happens to the body impacts the soul and what happens to the soul impacts the body. This is, after all, the theology of the sacrament of unction. We anoint the body with oil for the forgiveness of sins and restoration to wholeness and strength.
In the spartan gym with EZE, there are no mirrors, there is no carpet and there is no steam room. It is bare except for the necessary tools. That alone makes a statement. There are, however, two additional statements painted on the wall. One says “Mastering the mundane over time produces dominant athletes,” and the other “The barbell will teach you what kind of person you are.” Both of these clearly apply to our journey toward holiness. The Church has given us the tools we need to reach our goal. These tools are not flashy, and rarely are they comfortable, yet they are proven by the whole calendar of saints. As we move through the holy season of Lent, let us examine three: fasting, abstinence and the Daily Office.
FASTING
The Book of Common Prayer tells us that certain days of the year are to be marked “special acts of discipline and self-denial.” It is interesting that the Prayer Book doesn’t say may be observed but rather are observed. Ash Wednesday, all weekdays of Lent (save the Feast of the Annunciation, and in other places, the Feast of St. Joseph) and all Fridays of the year, particularly Good Friday, are such days. Fasting is oftentimes envisioned as eating nothing all day. This is not sustainable. The point of fasting is to limit the amount of food, and modern practice is to have one full meal and two smaller meals (not to equal the size of a full meal). An example would be eating a very simple breakfast and lunch and a normal dinner.
ABSTINENCE
Abstinence in this context refers to food, but it certainly could refer to sexual activity, as is the practice in Orthodoxy to abstain from sex during fasting periods. Food abstinence traditionally means abstaining from flesh meat, hence the practice of no meat on Fridays. This is the origin of giving up such things such as chocolate or coffee during Lent. The point of abstinence is to deprive ourselves of what is ordinarily good for us. Giving up bad habits or unhealthy foods during Lent misses the point, as we should give those things up anyway and, furthermore, don’t we pick them back up again after Easter? My practice is to follow tradition and abstain from meat on Fridays. Never do I desire General Tso’s Chicken more than on Lenten Fridays. It’s harder and more important than we may have thought.
Abstinence and fasting also deal with the extravagance of our meals. The point is to train our bodies and focus on Our Lord’s Passion. Following the letter of the law would allow a major banquet without meat on a Lenten Friday, but it certainly would not follow the spirit.
THE DAILY OFFICE
Keeping the office of Morning and Evening Prayer is another surprisingly powerful tool in the path to holiness. At St. Timothy’s, we instituted the practice of daily Morning and Evening Prayer during Lent six years ago. It seemed incongruous for a church staff to teach self-reflection and prayer during Lent while increasing our own activity due to Lenten demands and the advent of Easter. We began the Daily Office as a staff discipline. It continued beyond Easter and, now with the daily mass, still marks the beginning and ending of our days six years on.
The Daily Office is mundane. There is a temptation to mix it up and try different things to keep it fresh. Again, this is beside the point. The word office comes from the Latin meaning duty. We pray the office not because it is exciting. We pray the office because it is our duty. In doing so, we train our calendars. Just as fasting and abstinence train our bodies not to govern our minds and souls, the office trains our calendars to teach us that we do have time, in fact more time than we realized, to pray and do works of mercy.
There is a slogan that I often see in fitness circles: I do what I want. For the longest time, I didn’t really understand what that was supposed to mean. Surprisingly, St. Paul gave me the answer. In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul asked:
Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. (1 Cor. 9.24-27 RSV)
By training our bodies to submit to our spiritual will, we will be able to govern our bodies and not the other way around. So often our bodies tell us what we can and cannot do. So often our bodies and the desires of our bodies lead us down paths that are unhealthy and spiritually destructive. That’s why these practices matter. We can’t expect to go from slavery to freedom in one instant. We have to trust the tools given to us and use them with fidelity. There will be great times of frustration and mundanity. I was stunned at how unrealistic my expectations with EZE were. I was amazed at how important diet is in conjunction with training. And I was shocked at the difference between training six days a week as opposed to three. The saints show us that the same is true with the spirit. We can’t do just one spiritual practice to have it derailed by a competing vice, and we can’t do the practices just every now and then. Trust the process, we are told. Listen to those who have gone before. Learn from those who look very much like Jesus. For that, after all, is what we seek.
The Rev. Steve Rice is the rector of St. Timothy’s, Winston-Salem.
Tags: North Carolina Disciple
