March, 2008 - Wisconsin Conference United Methodist Church

Send your prayer requests to Peg Gardner, kidstuff@mequonumc.org
It’s prime time for Friday Fish Fries in Wisconsin –
numerically beefed up (pardon the expression) by dutiful
Christians avoiding meat for Lent. Every tavern,
restaurant and fast food drive-through is handing out breaded,
deep-fried fish-food. This sort of thing goes on year-round here
For families and churches in the northwoods, but during Lent it takes on urgency bigger
suffering through grief
than the catch of the day. And most of us pouring on the tartar
For the families and friends of
sauce are not even Catholic.
students killed in campus
Our state’s German founders are responsible for some of
shootings
this fishy fixation, as is our proximity to a rather large natural
fishing hole -- and plenty of human watering holes as well. But
For those who are coping with
what does fish have to do with Lent The early church promoted
illness, and their families
fasting, and abstinence from meat and meat-derived products
For healing – physical and
like milk, eggs and cheese (thus the pancake pig out on Shrove
spiritual
Tuesday/Mardi Gras), -- so how did fish swim on by
For the families of those
According to http://www.ewtn.org/faith/lent/history.htm,
accused of crimes
fish are exempted from the forbidden foods because “For several
For Kenya, Gaza and
centuries, abstinence from flesh-meat included likewise the
Afghanistan
prohibition of all animal food, with the single exception of fish,
For an end to the war in Iraq
which, on account of Its cold nature, and also for several
For pastors, their families, and
mystical reasons, founded on the sacred Scriptures, was always
their churches as new
permitted to be taken by those who fasted. ”
appointments occur
Sounds kinda fishy to me -- “mystical reasons” And if
fish have a cold nature, why did the passionate founders of Christianity take on the fish for their
symbol According to http://www.seiyaku.com/customs/fish/fish.html, it was Greek to them. “The
lowercase Greek character for Alpha (α) is similar to the fish symbol. This
may…have had some influence on the decision for Christians to adopt the
symbol, since Jesus calls himself "the Alpha and the Omega" – the beginning
and the end. As early as the second century Titus Flavius Clemens…..suggested
that Christians identify themselves with a seal engraved with a fish….
(he) noted that letters of the Greek word for fish, ΙΧΘΥΣ(pronounced
Ichthys), made the following neat little acrostic: Ι-Iota Χ-Chi Θ-Theta
Υ-Upsilon Σ-Sigma = Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter = Jesus Christ
God's Son Saviour.”
We’re fishing in troubled waters trying to sort all this out. So the fish represents Jesus, and
we eat fish on Fridays, but only if we’re fasting, or if we’re not fasting…… maybe it’s neither fish nor
fowl as we wipe the grease from our fingers and reach for some coleslaw. It’s time to fish or cut bait.
It’s Lent, and many of us are following traditions and practices set down by our Christian ancestors
centuries ago. With our own personal spin, of course, since most of us are fish out of water when it
comes to serious Lenten practices. I doubt if giving up Diet Coke or chocolate for Lent is quite as
profound a spiritual statement as 40 days in the wilderness. Be that as it may, we’re doing our best to
recognize the self-denials and determinations of Lent. For some of us it means fasting, for one day,
for 40 hours, for six weeks. For some of us it means deeper commitment to important works – peace,
social justice, ecological preservation, economic equity. For some of us it only means the altar cloth
is purple and spring break is closer than it was in January. Yet God finds us where we are – small fry
or big fish in the sea of his beloved. And it really doesn’t matter what we eat or when – there are
bigger fish to fry in the quest for deeper connections to our creator. And they don’t come with tartar
sauce.
KERYGYMA WORKSHOP
Monday, March 31 at THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN NEENAH, WI
For Information: contact www.kerygma.com/workshops/registeronline.htm