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The third thing the Lenten season invites us to practise is almsgiving. Jesus insisted that we care for those in need and that we do this without looking for a reward. “When you give alms, your left hand must not know what you right hand is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you” (Matt 6:3-4).

We can look at almsgiving in the specific and concrete sense of offering practical help to those who are hungry or homeless or without clothes. In Matthew’s Gospel chapter 25 Jesus makes it clear that this kind of charity is a non-negotiable essential for his followers. “When I was hungry you gave me to eat, when I was thirsty you gave me to drink; when I was sick or in prison you came to see me…. For as long as you did this to one of the least of my brothers and sisters you did it to me.”

But we also need to look at almsgiving in the much broader sense of our attitude to life. The late actress, Audrey Hepburn, once said, “As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping other people.” Our lives are not just about ourselves and our own needs. Our lives are also for others. When we serve others we are making a difference to their lives. We are also making a difference to our own. In fact, we are becoming who we are meant to be. We are showing love and love is the meaning and purpose of life. It is a truth that unless and until we give our lives away to others we do not seem to have them ourselves at any deep level.

Perhaps the thing we most associate with Lent is fasting. Jesus knew the value of fasting and promoted it in his teaching. Many of Jesus’ contemporaries saw fasting as physical and public acts of penance which they used to promote their ‘holy image’. “When you are fasting, do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they go about looking unsightly to let people know they are fasting. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put scent on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father” (Matt 6:16-18). Obviously Jesus wasn’t convinced by the practice of fasting used by the Pharisees. He knew there is a tendency in human nature towards attachment and addiction that is not healthy and balanced.

For Jesus fasting is not just about giving up things like sweets or cigarettes or alcohol. It is more about what we need to do to keep our hearts mellow and grateful. To keep our hearts mellow and grateful we certainly need to control our desire for possessions and power and popularity. As Jesus himself discovered during his retreat in the desert these are potent demons in the human heart that need to be tamed.

Fasting is unfashionable among Christians today. Yet never has it been so necessary. In the so called first world which is mainly nominally Christian we are now the most indebted, obese, addicted and medicated generation in history. Jesus’ teaching on fasting has the power to improve our health, our relationships and our environment. Yes, the real cause of climate change is our unwillingness to say, ‘I have enough.’ To fast is to say, ‘I have enough.’ Lent is a good opportunity to identify some area in my life that is out of control and to say, ‘enough is enough!’

The story of the Prodigal is regarded by many as the greatest story ever told (see Luke 15:11-32).  It is a story that describes the relationship between a father and his two sons.  The father is God the Father of Jesus.  The two sons represent humanity.

The younger son asks for his share of the family estate, leaves home and treats himself to a good time.  He is wasteful and ends up broke.  In fact, not only does he end up broke he also ends up broken.  He finds himself broke financially and broken emotionally.  He becomes penniless, powerless and friendless. He is stripped completely bare, left with nothing to hold on to.  His hands are totally empty.  Knowing that his hands are empty he decides to take a risk.  He returns home hoping that his father will forgive and accept him.  His hopes are realised beyond measure.  His father is delighted to have him back.  Without words of complaint or judgement his father clasps him in his arms and kisses him tenderly.  Indeed his father calls for a celebration because he has got his son back safe and sound.

The elder son is the dutiful son who stays at home and does the work.  His sense of duty while admirable makes him angry.  He is angry at his younger brother for being wasteful with the family’s hard earned money.  He is angry at his father for welcoming his younger brother back with open arms and no conditions.  And he is angry with what he perceives as the unfairness in the life of his family and indeed in his own life.  For the elder son love is not free.  It has to be earned, achieved by hard work.  The elder son is a conformist who has remained loyal, but his heart is resentful.  He is not at peace.

The younger son’s failure and emptiness allow him to accept his father’s love as gift while the elder son’s pride does not.  The younger son has no choice but to come to the father with empty hands.  The elder son needs to have his list of achievements in the presence of his father. Perhaps for the first time in his life the younger son knows that his father’s love is unconditional.  The elder son continues to see it as conditional.

But what about us?  Where are we in the story?  Is our experience of God that of the elder son or the younger son? Are we still trying to win God’s affirmation and approval by our achievements?  Or are we now able to come to God with empty hands in the affective knowledge that his love is unconditional?  Of course the truth is it usually takes an experience of failing and falling like that of the younger son before we can really accept the Father’s love as gift, not achievement.