Readings for Lent in The Year 2008, as read in Catholic and Anglican churches.

PRESENTATION OF THE LORD

(2ND February)

Scripture Readings:

Malachi 3:1-4, Hebrews 2:14-18,
Luke 2:22-40.

Vegan Comment:

The Holy Spirit prompted a man of peace to receive Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus in the Temple. If he had not arrived, the Holy Family would probably have been received by a butcher. Simeon, spoke of future sacrifice (Mary and Jesus being the two doves who would be impaled.) The birds they brought with them were not required to be killed for fulfilment of the Law. The name “Jesus”, confirmed by Simeon and Anna in their recognition of the salvation he would bring to Israel, was his circumcision and consecration. No bloodshed was necessary at the presentation of the holy child. Simeon and Anna, in complete old age, were liberated by this little Jesus. They were able to give up their earthly lives confident in God’s love for their immortal souls.
Candles are blessed on this day in recognition of the light which newly entered the darkness of the Temple; a place where imprisonment of God’s creatures, ritual slaughter, financial exploitation and spiritual blindness had established themselves. The lighting and blessing of candles is not only a reference to a significant historical event, but a symbol of the light which overcomes the darkness within ourselves.

ASH WEDNESDAY

(6th February 2008)

Scripture Readings:

Joel 2:12-18,
Second Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 5:20-6:2,
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18.

Vegan Comment:

Lent begins with a lesson from Jesus about how to practise charity (almsgiving). Unlike wearing ashes on our foreheads which we do as a “sign” of our Christian identity (or catholicity), helping those in need requires “discretion”. If the small plants that begin to shoot upwards in Spring-time are to grow to their full stature, the soil and moisture hidden beneath the surface of the ground must nourish their naked roots. They will be healthier and stronger if they develop gradually. They may require attention and protection in lots of little ways that don’t deserve mentioning whilst they are still small. Sign and reward will appear in due course when the mature plants begin to blossom and bear fruit.
Jesus also likens “prayer” to the soil and moisture which feed new growth when hidden from view. When there seems to be no practical way of assisting those who are suffering or in need, prayer (even without publicity and paraphernalia to draw attention to the plight) does make a real difference.
Vegans already know that cruelty-free life choices (requiring fasting and abstinence) are a source of great joy. But perhaps there is a lesson for us still to learn: the power of developing our own spirituality in solitude and prayer. Love must take root and grow in the secrecy of human hearts if it is to flourish. It is only in an abundance of love that all life can be held sacred.

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

(10th February 2008)

Scripture Readings:

Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7,
Letter of St Paul to the Romans 5:12-19,
Matthew 4:1-11.

Vegan Comment:

The devil tested Jesus in three ways whilst he fasted in the wilderness. Firstly, when Jesus experienced hunger he refused to kill other living creatures in order to satisfy his own need for food. Turning stones in a desert would crush, or leave fatally exposed, many little animals that shelter beneath them thus providing the flesh food that the devil offered. Secondly, when Jesus experienced fatigue he refused to impose the full force of his weight upon other living creatures in order to satisfy his own need for rest. As God, he could use the power structures which were imposed by the religious/political elite who governed the Temple in Jerusalem which were symbolically represented in the form of the Temple architecture. But this would overburden the servants who would faithfully rush to break his fall and carry him. Thirdly, when Jesus experienced desire to enjoy wealth through assuming control of global economies, he refused to subvert use of the world’s goods to any purpose other than to serve God. Monopolising the resources which are required to support the lives of all existing and future creatures would result, for many, in deprivation, death and extinction. He would not do it.
Angels are messengers of God. They might be distinct creatures who are rarely seen by human eyes on earth, or they may be any spirit who communicates God’s love through the medium of this world. Birds might have brought bread to Jesus, or apes handed him fruit, or deer may have led him to hidden springs. However it may have occurred, his Father in heaven provided for Jesus’s needs in ways which were beautiful and just.

SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

(17th February 2008)

Scripture Readings:

Genesis 12:1-4,
Second Letter of St Paul to Timothy 1:8-10,
Matthew 17:1-9.

Vegan Comment:

It is tempting to read this Gospel as an eye-witness account of a UFO sighting. Visitors from another solar system, time-travellers, Vulcans or Vegans; we seek answers to the mysteries contained in Scripture. Where did Moses disappear to at the end of his earthly life? What was the fiery chariot that collected Elijah? How did the virgin birth occur, and what sort of creatures are the angels who have repeatedly intervened on their speed-of-light journeys at God’s command? Who were the men in white at the Resurrection and Ascension? Of course, without denying the possibilities pregnant within the secret silence of the vast unknown, Christians prefer to avoid speculation, placing all credit duly at God’s door.
Jesus is the Lord of time, and the key to unlocking the mysteries of our enquiries. When Moses and Elijah climbed God’s mountain and spoke to the Lord, it was Jesus whom they met and listened to. It is not the colour of his clothes, his height, his requirement for our design and construction services, nor the make and model of his vehicle that we need to know. We need to listen to what he says to us. Listening is more than hearing different vibrations of noises. He told his disciples not to publicise the strange things they had seen until they could themselves understand their significance. His death can make no sense without his rising again to life again, nor without his continued unity with God both on earth and in heaven. Similarly, we ought not try to tell anyone what other species of creature are capable of saying and doing, until they are well on the path to recovery from the many oppressions that leave them voiceless.

THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

(24th February 2008)

Scripture Readings:

Exodus 17:3-7,
Letter of St Paul to the Romans 5:1-2, 5-8,
John 4:5-42.

Vegan Comment:

What is it to be lost, and what is it to be saved? The Samaritans considered themselves to be saved simply through being recognised and known by Jesus (or in plain speak, by God's ‘Love’). In contrast, Jesus’ Jewish disciples feared that ‘Love’ would perish if he were not fed, watered, well rested and provided with agreeable company. This is a distinction which is made visible in our varying attitudes towards animals; between recognising an animal’s “rights”, and a concern for their basic “welfare”. UK Law now provides for all domestic animals, both companion and farmed, to be kept in suitable environments, with appropriate food, water, place to rest, and company. These stipulations do not safeguard the life of the creatures concerned though. Enshrined in the same Law is the requirement that owners of animals must be willing and able to kill them, an action which for farmed animals is the main motive their owner has for raising them. Such motives are contrary to the purposes of God. It is not possible to live and move in the Spirit, and kill (or intentionally inflict any harm). To recognise another’s right to be known with Love is to wish to protect them.
The difference between ‘rights’ and ‘welfare’ is also illustrated in the distinction made elsewhere in Scripture between whether someone is a hired servant, or a member of the family. Rights and welfare ought to go together, just as members of a family may contribute to a household’s work, and staff may be treated with all the love and respect of a family member. Things go wrong when there are conflicting interests between employees and employers, or where families are divided. Jesus’ most famous parable is probably that of the Good Samaritan who revived the man who was left for dead by the roadside (a supporter of human welfare might have preferred to alleviate his suffering by hastening his death). In contrast, Jesus was eventually crucified at the insistence of the Jews, for the alleged good of the majority of the Jewish people (in violation of his right to love and continued life).

FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Laetare/Mothering Sunday (2nd March 2008)

Scripture Readings:

Samuel 16:1,6-7,10-13,
Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians 5:8-14,
John 9:1-41.

Vegan Comment:

Our interior mind’s eye can know absolutes, but our senses can only recognise through contrast; light against dark, high against low, intense against absent. The man born blind could only see absolutes; he was open to Jesus. He is contrasted against those with fine ocular vision, who suffered impaired sight within. Artists can portray animals in captivity with stunning realism, whilst failing to notice their suffering. For example, they might communicate the rare beauty of a pig through their painting whilst enjoying a bacon sandwich for lunch. They can imitate, but not evaluate. They are seduced by stimulus, but cannot recognise the presence of another intelligent being.
Jesus wishes to put things into his father’s heavenly order. He does this by curing disease, which enables God to be known. He does this by opening the eyes of sinners to the sufferings they cause so that they might stop sinning. He gradually conceals past injury through good works so that offended senses may see sin no more. He removes the fear that can prevent people seeing the adverse consequences that their rash words and actions might lead to. He shows us our guilt, when we pompously try to conceal what we do wrong. It doesn’t help Vegans to upset God’s heavenly order; we have the great task of willingly helping Jesus with his work.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

(9th March 2008)

Scripture Readings:

Ezekiel 37:12-14,
Letter of St Paul to the Romans 8:8-11,
John 11:1-45.

Vegan Comment:

From opening eyes, to opening graves. Although our eyes grow tired, there is no limit to the sights we can see. But there is not room on planet earth for all of the creatures that have ever lived, and that God has ever loved, to be raised to life again and co-exist. Therefore, this notion of bodily resurrection for all those whom God loves cannot be seriously entertained in the context of the ‘real world’. But , can we not still love those who have died (and who therefore still exist as objects of love) even though they do not appear to occupy space? Yes, and we can love them despite their failings, and even imagine them as being the same but without their old shortcomings.
The slaughter and cruelty that Vegans seek to end are not new to our world. Nor will they vanish from the world imminently. This is hard to accept for those of us who believe that slaughter is contrary to the will of God, and that every life matters. Yet, Jesus delayed visiting Lazarus until after he had died, before raising him to life again. He did not prevent a tragic death occurring to someone he loved dearly. Instead, God demonstrated through Lazarus that life doesn’t end in death. But it would not serve God’s purposes for all living creatures to exist eternally in this world. There would be mayhem if all of a sudden every joint of meat on the supermarket shelves started pulling itself back together again and trotting round the aisles. The resurrection of life must be in a place beyond the confines of our current world order and restricted human senses.