Christians in the Coptic Orthodox Church prepare for Lent by feasting.
For ten days before the Great Lent begins, we consume the food from which we’ll soon abstain. Barring those with health concerns, food allergies, or eating disorders, as well as those pregnant, nursing, or with other individual food-related concerns, we eat or distribute all the meat, fish, and dairy products in our homes to get ready for the fast ahead. The Arabic word for these days in the Coptic Orthodox Church (الرفاع) literally means “lifting up” or “leave-taking.”
Not every Christian tradition has continued this abstinence from meat, fish, and dairy in its practice of Lent, of course. Nonetheless, it’s important for all of us to recognize the main purpose of this form of abstinence: almsgiving. Historically, those who could afford to eat meat and dairy on a regular basis were supposed to give the cost of that food as alms. Those who fasted further by abstaining from food till a specific hour were to give the cost of the skipped meal or two to the poor as well.
This connection is deliberate. It serves as a chance to take stock of all the excess that we have acquired and return some of it to those who do not have excess.
Recently, I sat down and calculated how much my family of five spent on meat and dairy products in January and saw that they constituted about 50 percent of our total food budget for that month, even though they constituted a much lower percentage of our actual food by volume. If I am practicing Lenten almsgiving, I should now be giving a good portion of what I’m not spending on these items to those in need, as what is left is vegetables, fruits, grains, starches, and legumes, which are usually much less expensive than meat and dairy.
Sometimes, this isn’t always the case; there are some locations in North America, for example, where fresh produce is not always available. Some believers, for health reasons, might need to spend more money on more expensive vegan foods like avocados, nuts, and seeds. If Lent finds us spending the same amount or more on food to observe the fast, there might be other ways to incorporate almsgiving during Lent that are not related to money saved or spent.
For those who do save money during Lent, the pre-Lent period is a good time to decide where to donate the money saved from avoiding meat and dairy purchases and eating more simply. We can give to local food pantries or soup kitchens, or charities that work on hunger and food insecurity. Or perhaps, if we know someone personally in need, we can drop a grocery gift card in their mailbox or do the grocery shopping for an elderly neighbor.
Whether or not we fast from meat and dairy, or whether or not we save money from this, knowing that almsgiving is the point means we can still find ways to offer to the physically hungry during the fast. Perhaps we can consider how many times a week or month we eat out, and we choose instead to eat at home and donate the cost of this meal to the hungry, or we deliver such a meal to someone who needs something hot and satisfying.
Or perhaps we can consider inviting others to our tables during Lent. Hospitality is not just for feasting, and Lent is a beautiful time to make room in our hearts for others as we’ve made room in our pantries. According to Isaiah, this is the fast that God has chosen:
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh? (58:7, NKJV)
In choosing to abstain from certain foods for over a month and a half and giving what we would have fed ourselves to others, our almsgiving is less a charity than it is empathy and solidarity. In the words the Lord said to Isaiah, when we fast and give to the hungry and the poor, we are giving to our “own flesh.”
When we experience what it is like to not eat or drink even when we are hungry or thirsty, we get a small taste of what it is like to live with water shortages, chronic hunger, food insecurity, and war. When we experience what it is like to limit the kinds of foods we eat, we get a small taste of what it is like to live with finance or health limitations that severely reduce our choices.
If we do experience war, chronic hunger, food insecurity, financial limitations, or health issues, Great Lent is for us, too. In first-century Rome, unwanted babies were left out in the elements to die of starvation, cold, or animal predators. Sometimes, they were taken and raised into the slave trade or sexual slavery.
During this time, the early Christians rescued babies who had been “exposed” and raised them in their communities. According to liturgical scholar Dom Gregory Dix, during worship these children, “who had nothing of their own to bring, always offered the water to be mingled with the wine in the chalice.” These children show us that if all we have to offer is some water, it is an acceptable offering.
If we do not have the financial means to give, we can consider ways to give of our other resources during Lent. Our time is often more valuable than money.
We can offer that time to food pantries, helping prepare hot meals or packing lunches. If we know how to assemble flat-packed furniture, we can help elderly neighbors assemble bookshelves. If we know of a harried mother of multiple young children who could use some time to breathe, we can offer to watch her children for a few hours. All of these offerings are precious gifts, a blessing to the body of Christ.
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What we need to cultivate for Great Lent is not only a generosity of resources but also a generosity of spirit, and that is true even if we are the ones in need of alms—if we already know what it means to be truly physically hungry before a fast appears on our calendars.
Lent is our opportunity to consider what it means to have that hunger and thirst for righteousness, not just for food and drink. And Lent is our opportunity to receive love from our “own flesh,” too, in the words of Isaiah. We might not have food to “lift up” during these weeks of preparation, but we can lift up others in prayer for our brothers and sisters. If we are the recipients of alms, we are also part of the circle of Lenten solidarity.
Phoebe Farag Mikhail is the author of Hunger for Righteousness: A Lenten Journey Towards Intimacy with God and Loving our Neighbor and Putting Joy into Practice. Her writing also appears in Plough, Faithfully Magazine, and her blog, Being in Community.
Hunger for Righteousness: A Lenten Journey Towards Intimacy with God and Loving our Neighbor by Phoebe Farag Mikhail
Copyright 2025 by Phoebe Farag Mikhail
Used by permission of Paraclete Press.
www.paracletepress.com
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