A Very Lenten Ramadan
Episode 5
This is the 5th podcast in a series called ‘A Very Lenten Ramadan’ in which I’m reflecting on my experience of fasting during Lent this year. In 2026 Lent and Ramadan began on the same day which led to my deciding to fast during Lent in the same manner that Muslims do during Ramadan. I’m doing this respectfully and as a way to learn more about other people’s experiences of their own religion.
So, Podcast number 5. That means I’ve been doing this for about 5 weeks now and I must reflect that by this stage of the season of fasting, you get yourself somewhat in the groove of it all and perhaps you’re not thinking about what you’re doing so much anymore. Or perhaps that’s just me. This is not to say that I’m never getting hungry during the day. That’s certainly not the case. But as the fast becomes more ‘usual’ or ‘normal’ in my daily schedule, it can start to be forgotten in some ways.
Psychologists have a term for this sort of thing. It’s called habituation. Let’s say you live right next to a train line or right under a flight path. When you first move in there, you hear the trains and the planes all the time, right? But after a while you realise, ‘Oh wait a minute, a plane just went overhead and I didn’t really notice.’ Or you don’t even notice at all.
It’s what our brains do. Habituation.
So I think this is one of the dangers getting to this stage of the fast, on the 27th day of Lent. The danger is that the fast becomes somewhat ineffective. I say somewhat, because I know God is bigger – far bigger – than my human frailties and sinfulness. And God can overwrite whatever he likes. But for me personally, at this stage of the fast am I still getting the spiritual benefit from the fast, as did at the start of Lent?
I’m asking myself that question.
That’s something I will continue thinking about because fasting without thinking about God and Jesus, his son is not what fasting should be about, at all. Otherwise, it fast becomes just fasting and not a spiritual or biblical discipline.
One thing I’m also aware of this week is that it is about to be Eid this weekend. That means it’s the end of Ramadan and Muslims stop fasting and return to their regular daily patterns. Lent, however, lasts for another two weeks up until Easter.
How then should I think about my fasting this coming week? Any differently to before? Should I be praying about different things? Should I be concerning myself with matters other than praying for Muslims?
I don’t know the answers to these questions yet. Perhaps I’ll reflect on them this coming week.
Other things I should reflect on this week are whether I have a whole range of topics that I’m praying for and whether I’m engaging in prayer only. Or whether I’m engaging in praise and prayer. I don’t want to only just be asking for things when I talk to God. I want to respond to God’s character: just who he is, not what I might gain from him.
As the period of Lent moves close to Easter there is a shift again, I feel, in the nature of the fast or the ideas associated with it. I feel that the concept of sacrifice comes into play even more so, as we reflect on the sacrifice of Christ.
But this concept is also within Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims are to increase their charitable giving to the needy. I feel like that’s something that should also be a part of Lent and probably is within many traditions.
But it’s something I’m reflecting on right now. Because it’s a very worthwhile practice that is included within Ramadan.
So I’m asking myself – how can I serve the needy in the lead up to Easter? How can I be more generous? Sacrificially generous? And that’s going to look differently for everyone. But sacrificial giving is what Jesus did at the cross and so I should be doing the same as one of his people.
And also something I’ve reflected on this week, is the fact that – to the very best of my knowledge – I’ve never been to a mosque before. That’s something that I should now put on my list of things to do, because attending a place of worship allows you to learn quite a lot about a particular religion. So for that reason alone, I should attend a mosque.
However, the anthropologist in me wants to attend a mosque for other reasons.
Still, I think we need to improve the dialogue between religions in mainstream society. And I think that when we genuinely try to understand more about another religion, we always find connections between our own beliefs and someone else’s. Even if they are wildly different ideas. We can still learn from one another as we compare and contrast our spiritual journeys.
So that’s what I’ll continue to do as I continue to fast for Lent in a very Ramadan manner. And as we get closer to Easter I hope you remember that Jesus went to the cross for you, because you are more important to him than you can imagine.