{"id":4688,"date":"2016-02-07T15:57:35","date_gmt":"2016-02-07T21:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/?p=4688"},"modified":"2016-02-07T15:57:35","modified_gmt":"2016-02-07T21:57:35","slug":"forward-into-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/forward-into-lent-4688.htm","title":{"rendered":"Forward into Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"George<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Anglican Parson George Herbert (1593-1633) in his poem \u201cLent\u201d counsels us to follow the Church\u2019s directions for Lent. The Church of England had preserved the Lenten fast; the Puritans, although they fasted, rejected the idea of a prescribed time for fasting. The Anglican Church to a large extent preserved the rhythms of the church year, the feasts and fasts, because \u201cFor everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven\u2026 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welcome dear feast of Lent: who loves not thee,
\nHe loves not Temperance, or Authority,
\nBut is compos’d of passion.
\nThe Scriptures bid us fast; the Church says, now:
\nGive to thy Mother, what thou wouldst allow
\nTo ev’ry Corporation.<\/p>\n

The humble soul compos’d of love and fear
\nBegins at home, and lays the burden there,
\nWhen doctrines disagree,
\nHe says, in things which use hath justly got,
\nI am a scandal to the Church, and not
\nThe Church is so to me.<\/p>\n

True Christians should be glad of an occasion
\nTo use their temperance, seeking no evasion,
\nWhen good is seasonable;
\nUnless Authority, which should increase
\nThe obligation in us, make it less,
\nAnd Power itself disable.<\/p>\n

Besides the cleanness of sweet abstinence,
\nQuick thoughts and motions at a small expense,
\nA face not fearing light:
\nWhereas in fulness there are sluttish fumes,
\nSour exhalations, and dishonest rheums,
\nRevenging the delight.<\/p>\n

Then those same pendant profits, which the spring
\nAnd Easter intimate, enlarge the thing,
\nAnd goodness of the deed.
\nNeither ought other men’s abuse of Lent
\nSpoil the good use; lest by that argument
\nWe forfeit all our Creed.<\/p>\n

It’s true, we cannot reach Christ’s forti’eth day;
\nYet to go part of that religious way,
\nIs better than to rest:
\nWe cannot reach our Saviour’s purity;
\nYet we are bid, ‘Be holy ev’n as he, ‘
\nIn both let’s do our best.<\/p>\n

Who goeth in the way which Christ hath gone,
\nIs much more sure to meet with him, than one
\nThat travelleth by-ways:
\nPerhaps my God, though he be far before,
\nMay turn and take me by the hand, and more:
\nMay strengthen my decays.<\/p>\n

Yet Lord instruct us to improve our fast
\nBy starving sin and taking such repast,
\nAs may our faults control:
\nThat ev’ry man may revel at his door,
\nNot in his parlour; banqueting the poor,
\nAnd among those his soul.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I think the stanza which we might best take to heart is this one:<\/p>\n

It’s true, we cannot reach Christ’s forti’eth day;
\nYet to go part of that religious way,
\nIs better than to rest:
\nWe cannot reach our Saviour’s purity;
\nYet we are bid, ‘Be holy ev’n as he, ‘
\nIn both let’s do our best.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We cannot fast from food for forty days, or attain the holiness of Jesus, but \u201cin both let\u2019s do our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The Anglican Parson George Herbert (1593-1633) in his poem \u201cLent\u201d counsels us to follow the Church\u2019s directions for Lent. The Church of England had preserved the Lenten fast; the Puritans, although they fasted, rejected the idea of a prescribed time for fasting. The Anglican Church to a large extent preserved the rhythms of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[1268,1269],"class_list":["post-4688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-liturgy","tag-george-herbert","tag-lent","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4688"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4690,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4688\/revisions\/4690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podles.org\/dialogue\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}