Have you ever been to a Mardi Gras event? Or for that matter have you ever celebrated Mardi Gras? My first time I ever visited New Orleans was for Mardi Gras and boy was it an eye-opener. People go absolutely crazy. It’s one of the those “bucket list” items that I am glad to have checked (but I would be perfectly happy not doing it again).
Another name for the day is Shrove Tuesday. You will get bonus points from me if you know why it is called that. We get it from the Roman Catholic Church. To shrive meant to confess your sins and being absolved of them by a priest. On the day before Ash Wednesday there was a call to the lay people to come to the church and do just that. The call was made by a shriving bell rung at the church. It was important for people to be ready for the season of Lent, and this practice was a way that people prepared.
Tell me if this practice sounds like Halloween:
On the day before Lent children would go “shoving”, or “Lent-crocking,” where they would knock on people’s doors and sing a song with these lyrics:
We be come a-shroving,
For a piece of pancake,
Or a bite of bacon,
Or a little truckle of cheese
Of your own making.
They would often bring with them small stones or broken pieces of pottery to throw at people who refused to give out anything.
That sounds a lot like Trick-or-treating to me.
Pancakes are a favorite meal on Shrove Tuesday. You will get even more bonus points if you know why. Go ahead and think about it. I’ll wait…
Ok here is the reason. Before Lent started people wanted to rid themselves of foods in the house they wouldn’t be able to eat. And what is the best way to remove those food? Eat them before the season begins. The Monday before was called “Collup Monday” due to meats like bacon being eaten (a collup is a thin slice of meat). On Shrove Tuesday they ate up all the eggs, butter, and fat in the house. A really easy way to do this was to make pancakes and fritters. So the tradition to eat pancakes started this way and continues to this day in many Shrove Tuesday church services.
This brings us to the story of Joseph from Genesis.
Genesis 41:25-36
5 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years; it is one and the same dream. 27 The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine.
28 “It is just as I said to Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt, 30 but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land. 31 The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe. 32 The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.
33 “And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.”
You are probably familiar with this story, although you may not have ever associated it with Mardi Gras. Joseph is called to interpret a dream. What Joseph is not called to do is to tell Pharaoh what to do. And yet that is exactly what he does. What boldness he must have, as a prisoner, to tell the most powerful person in the land what he should be doing. The fact that he wasn’t immediately beheaded for this tells you a lot about God’s plan. Notice the difference between this story and the story of Lent.
Egypt: A time without is coming. We need to prepare.
Lent: A time without is coming. Eat, drink, and be merry.
These are two completely different responses. Where are we getting the Mardi Gras mentality? We did’t get it from Jesus. Can you imagine the Last Supper scene? What if Jesus, after telling his disciples what was about to happen, said let’s throw a party and drink ourselves silly. That certainly didn’t happen. Is the party-before-hard-times mentality the best way to prepare for Lent, a time of spiritual meditation?
Ecclesiastes 9:1-10
9 This, too, I carefully explored—that godly and wise men are in God’s will; no one knows whether he will favor them or not. All is chance! 2-3 The same providence confronts everyone, whether good or bad, religious or irreligious, profane or godly. It seems so unfair that one fate comes to all. That is why men are not more careful to be good but instead choose their own mad course, for they have no hope—there is nothing but death ahead anyway.
4 There is hope only for the living. “It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!” 5 For the living at least know that they will die! But the dead know nothing ; they don’t even have their memories. 6 Whatever they did in their lifetimes—loving, hating, envying—is long gone, and they have no part in anything here on earth anymore. 7 So go ahead, eat, drink, and be merry, for it makes no difference to God! 8 Wear fine clothes—with a dash of cologne! 9 Live happily with the woman you love through the fleeting days of life, for the wife God gives you is your best reward down here for all your earthly toil. 10 Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.
What is the author of Ecclesiastes saying about eating, drinking, and being merry in verse 7? He is saying this because in this view there is no hope. You should only be this way if hope is lost. But hope is exactly the message of Lent.
Hope for spiritual improvement
Hope for a better life
Hope for us all
This is what Lent is all about. This is what the time leading up to Eater is for. It is all about hope. We hope that we can change. We hope that we can be better stewards of God’s Love. We hope for a time when we are living the Easter dream.
We don’t party because things will soon be lost. We celebrate because all things will one day be found.
God Bless