Sweet-Tarts jelly beans are the best jelly beans ever. You can only find them around Easter and–as it seems to be the case here in Tulsa–at Walgreens.
The last two seasons of Lent I’ve tried to give up sugar. Both times these little beans of sweet jelly coated with a tart outer shell have shipwrecked my good intentions and caused me to question whether I’m really cut out to be a Lent practicing Christian.
Guilt-induced aside coming. . .
Isn’t Lent a Catholic tradition anyway? What is a jelly bean loving protestant like myself doing dipping into this ancient practice in the first place? (If you’ve been led to believe that Church of Christers aren’t really protestants, then you’ve been seriously misled. Can you think of any other group who has “protested” more than the Church of Christ?) But I digress.
Yesterday, on the way to an after-church get together, I had to stop at a Walgreens to pick up some plastic bowls. I just “happened” to walk down the Easter candy aisle and they were, in all their colorful Lent-busting glory.
I’m glad I chose to give up bread this year.
One of the best lines about Lent I’ve come across comes from a Catholic mother after her daughter told her that she was enjoying Lent. The mother said, “Honey, if you’re enjoying Lent, you’re not doing it right.”
Technorati Tags: lent, jelly beans, idolatry
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
I’ve not had Sweet-Tart jelly beans but Starburst jelly beans are killer!
I don’t get those Catholics and the whole, “Let’s have a particular time of year set aside to celebrate belly button fuzz.” They even spelled it wrong.
Is lent not a “work” Catholics pactice in order to go to heaven. It seems interesting you have “Fat tuesday” where Catholics and others sin all they want before they have give it up. Cheapening the grace of God. We are called be a living sacrifice in Romans 12, not just for 40 days. My catholic friends usually give up stuff that isn’t really sacrificial for them. So, where is lent in the Bible? I am just a Christian trying to be “Biblical”.
Get ready, Wade. Now that you have outed yourself as one who attempts the disciplines of Lent you are surely to get bombarded with e-mails from “concerned” brothers/sisters who think the practicing of Lent is, in essence, the practice of one going to hell.
I have to say, living in Cajun Country, or near it and working with many Catholics, I have never really understood Lent. To be sure, Fat Tuesday is a way to eat all you want before you can’t eat anymore of what you like! It has never sounded Biblical or appealing to me.
Mardi Gras is a wonderment in itself. You party hardy and work up a sweat because you have to give up something for a time. It seems to me, the grace of God is not understood at all by Catholics. They are working themselves to heaven and these are parts of the puzzle to make sure they get there!
I have a hard time every year at this time of year and especially on Ash Wednesday to keep from laughing my head off when I want to tell them they have a dirty face!!!!
Should we not be giving up our vices all year long? Should we not be in mourning all year long for our sins and trying to live like Christ all the time? If love is the be all, end all, then Mardi Gras and Lent and Fat Tuesday just don’t fit in with my understanding.
Ok—perhaps my post should have been more clear. The jelly beans are the lent busters. I wasn’t asking for anyone to be a lent buster in the comments. I’m not looking for anyone in these comments to tell us what is wrong with Lent or the Catholic tradition.
Everything I wrote in this post was meant to be light-hearted–everything. Therefore I expect every comment in response to it to be light-hearted as well. Since I’m in a bad mood today, I just might delete any comment that I deem to be not light-hearted enough.
Lance–I too used to be a fan of the starburst jelly beans until I came up the sweet-tarts version.
I was raised in the Catholic Church. As a Catholic youth I never understood the point of giving something up during lent. It was just something I was required to do.
I also never realized the relationship of Mardi Gras to Lent until recently. To condemn faithful Catholic’s because of the sinful behavior of people at Mardi Gras is wrong.
In the last few years I have come to see the value in going without (fasting) as a spiritual disipline. It has allowed me to appreciate those who practice this at Lent.
Wade, the jelly beans sound good. I may have to see if the Walgreens here in Memphis has some.
As a Catholic, I didn’t realize Catholics used “Fat Tuesday” to “sin all they want before they have to give it up”. I was raised that sin was wrong – period. But then again I was raised to be tolerant of other people and repectful of other beliefs too. It’s so nice to recieve such valuable information from people who have obviously spent so much time and effort studying the Catholic faith. The message the priest gave at my church just last week was about not only “giving something up” for Lent, but also about how we should use this time for extra stewardship. He encouraged us to be more aware of how we can help others – to go above and beyond our usual efforts. I could go on and explain more of the purpose of Lent, the meaning behind additional sacrifice and stewardship – but you guys obviously have all of that figured out. Maybe you should give up being so judgemental of others. Praying for more tolerance and less judgement as we travel this road together. And who knows – you just might even see me at the end.
Wade, if you work it just right hit Walgreen’s right after Easter. Loads and loads of them last year at half price.
My kids and I have an addiction. When I come home they instinctively ask for them, knowing that somewhere on me is a bag of the wonderful tasting beans.
Darin,
I just hope those are the Harry Potter beans my kids wanted me to try. 🙂
I don’t think that Lent is one of those Catholic “works to get into Heaven” things anymore than “quiet time” and “regular church attendance” are in the Protestant camp – though I’m sure both camps have used these practices as a means of twisting people’s arms.
I’ve been practicing Lent since my last couple of years of college. I see it as a beautiful season of fasting (which Christ called us to do) in which we turn away from things that we depend on and thirst for in order to draw near to God. When I find myself craving a latte or wanting a glass of wine with dinner, I pray about it, I draw near to God, and he responds. By doing so, I train myself to recognize the temptations in my life and train myself to rush to God to fight my battles.
I’ve found that Lent acts as a springboard for the remainder of the year when it comes to overcoming sin. I need to get back into the habbit of fasting regularly. I don’t think that lattes or wine are evil in and of themselves (there are some who would argue with me), but my relationship to them is what has the potential to dishonor God.
Starburst jelly beans are mmm, mmm good!
“dont eat fish on fridays! unless you forget, ok just eat the fish.. just don’t tell us..ok uh, just eat the fish..”-jim gaffigan
As Wades favorite aunt I can assure everyone that he did NOT give up jelly beans for Lent when I first knew him. He was a newborn and did not sprout enough teeth to eat them until he was about 2 years old or so. Wade, keep up the good dialogue!
Tisk tisk Wade. You’ve been doing this blog stuff long enough you should know people will always blow things out of proportion on the internets. It’s how they work…
😛
I was raised C of C. No Ash Wednesday, No Lent, No Good Friday Service, etc. Now I’m at a church that faithfully celebrates each of these but (sadly) no one can explain exactly why or what they mean. The explanations go something like:
“Uh…because…what? You never did this growing up?”
I think Lent is a really good exercise in fasting and sacrifice (I fail nearly every year because I keep trying to give up chocolate). I love the Thursday night vigil before Good Friday. And I think I understand Good Friday, though if you aren’t prepared for the late night service led by black robed people in a building draped in black and lit by only a few candles (they get snuffed out too) it can be pretty creepy.
But what is the purpose of Ash Wednesday and Fat Tuesday? (I also don’t understand Advent, Mardi Gras, or why anyone would be more tempted by jelly beans than Cadbury eggs…)