Coronavirus as an Involuntary Lenten Practice

Part of “praying the news” is sticking around for the dark times and what they have to teach us.  Part of the practice of Lent in the Christian tradition (or Ramadan in the Muslim tradition, etc.) is to voluntarily go without—to fast, to withdraw from everyday habits of satisfying our cravings such as food habits, to choose to abstain and go without.  All this is to “cleanse” our senses with the result that when we get around to indulging them again we will be more able to enjoy what we might otherwise take for granted or do only from routine.  (The same is true of partial celibacy or other practices or “tactical ecstasies” that are meant to get us in touch with what we might otherwise take for granted.) 

With the current coronavirus emergency we are facing a parallel Lenten practice of going without—though it is involuntary and not voluntary.  It is being foisted upon us by circumstances none of us chose (though the fact that some government officials chose denial and therefore ill-preparedness is sure to impact the severity of the emergency for many).

One does not have to be a practicing Christian to recognize Lenten parallels and elements in the current coronavirus situation.  The instruction we received as children about Lent was to “give up something that meant something to you.”  That often was translated by the children’s mind as: candy.  Or specifically chocolate.  Or sleeping in in the morning, etc. Or by adults as giving up cigarettes.  Or an alcoholic drink.  Some discipline was learned in the process of trying to stay true to these promises of letting go over a forty day period.

Here are some involuntary fastings that are in our face today:

–Fasting from gatherings.  People as a whole like to congregate, to come together—whether for sporting events or theater events or whatever.  We are being asked today to surrender that satisfying socializing for a greater good—to lessen contaminating one another with the virus.

–Fasting even from watching NBA on television.

–Fasting even from playing in the NBA and achieving honors that get us to the championships and to perfecting one’s excellence and reputation in a sport.

–Fasting from the “March Madness” NCAA collegiate basketball championships.

–Fasting from playing in the same.

–Fasting from going to theater as in Broadway and elsewhere.

–Fasting from playing in the theater as actors and actresses.

–Fasting from flying on vacations or elsewhere.

–Fasting from making a living flying airplanes or being stewards/stewardesses on them.

–Fasting from going to work or hanging out in malls and stores.

–Fasting from attending church services.

A certain synchronicity obtains when these Lenten-like practices are occurring now during the Lenten season.

For fasting as a tactical ecstasy, see Matthew Fox, Whee! We, wee All the Way Home: A Guide to Sensual, Prophetic Spirituality, pp. 46-55.

Banner Image: Human cell being infected with a virus. Photo by Fusion Medical Animation on Unsplash

Queries for Contemplation

What additional Involuntary Fastings do you see on the horizon?

Does it make a difference or strike a bell to recognize what is facing us parallels a Lenten practice, a fasting?

Recommended Reading

Whee! We, Wee All the Way Home: A Guide to Sensual Prophetic Spirituality

One of Matthew Fox’s earliest books, this title explores the importance of ecstasy in the spiritual life. Fox considers the distinction between “natural” ecstasies (including nature, sex, friendship, music, art) and “tactical” ecstasies (like meditation, fasting, chanting); he names the spiritual journey as taking us from ecstasy (Whee!) to a community consciousness (We), to our battling forces that prefer control to pleasure shared or justice (wee).

Learn More