Wednesday in the 3rd Week of Lent: Letter 17 Notes

We begin today’s Letter #17 with one of the 7 Deadly Sins – Gluttony.  Now if you are wondering what it takes to be one of the big 7, it is a moral transgression that can lead to damnation if not repented.  The list developed overtime and was formalized by Pope Gregory I in the 6^th century.  The 7 deadly sins in order of severity are

1.      Lust

2.      Gluttony

3.      Greed

4.      Sloth

5.      Wrath

6.      Envy

7.      Pride – it is often considered the root of all sins.

Gluttony comes from the Latin word meaning to “gulp down”.   It is more than just eating too much, Gluttony is an inordinate relationship with material things, treating them as the ultimate end in our lives.  Gluttony can be the unhealthy addiction to food, technology, social media, or anything else that becomes obsessive.  Ultimately, Gluttony is the attempt to solve a deep hunger with things when what we really need is God.

Worwood is quite proud of his use of Gluttony in tempting his Patient and has bragged in his last letter to his uncle who is less than impressed. 

Screwtape breaks down Gluttony into 2 categories.  There is the gluttony of Excess which is the traditional route of overconsuming anything in a never-ending quest to fill a deep void that is hardly hunger induced.   Second is the gluttony of Delicacy which is far more useful when it comes to temptations. 

This Delicacy gluttony is not a matter of excess, but of annoying pickiness.  To put it another way, Delicacy gluttony is about overindulgence in quality rather than quantity.  The one who insists on having his or her every desire satisfied is a Glutton, even if the volume consumed is small.  In the case of the Patient’s mother, Screwtape points out that “she never recognizes as gluttony her determination to get what she wants, however troublesome it may be to others.” 

The mother suffers from a belly that dominates her entire life by what is called by Screwtape, the “All-I-want” state of mind.  She controls her world and all in her path by obsessing over how little she eats and how lacking it is in any relative quality or taste.  Everything is too much, and nothing is ever good enough. 

A good example of this can be seen in the character of Hyacinth Bucket on the BBC show, Keeping Up Appearances.  Hyacinth forever wants things to be exactly as she expects and drives all others in her sphere absolutely crazy by insisting that does not wish for a fuss to be made and then complaining if they do not. 

Screwtape tells Wormwood that Gluttony of Delicacy produces querulousness (which is complaining in a petulant or whining manner), impatience, charitableness, and self-concern.  The Patient can be led into become more and more self-centered and less and less considerate of others.

Screwtape wants Wormwood to understand that humans are conditioned to “habitually give in to their sensual appetites (food being just one of many)” and this can be used to lull them into other sins of the flesh.  The subtlety of Gluttony of Delicacy makes it harder for the person to recognize and repent. 

Screwtape advises Wormwood to exploit this weakness in the Mother which will encourage similar tendencies in the Patient.  The goal is to foster a sense of entitlement and dissatisfaction with everyone and everything leading to further spiritual downfall in all areas of life.

Interestingly enough, Fasting can be a form of Gluttony of Delicacy when the Patient becomes obsessed with it.  Think of Jesus criticizing the Pharisees who love to make a public show of their religious behavior.   Fasting can be an effective tool against Gluttony if we use it as a spiritual means rather than end.  Fasting becomes a time when prayer replaces eating and we seek to rely on God alone to satisfy our physical craving with spiritual food. 

By the way, one misconception is that Fasting means giving up all food.  You can fast from red meat, alcohol, or anything else for that matter.  When I was the Episcopal Chaplain at the University of Memphis, I would give up vegetables for Lent since many of our students were giving up red meat.  I said it was to balance creation.  I am not so sure about the purity of my resolve.

Our first scripture lesson for today from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy tells of Moses addressing the Israelites in the Wilderness.  God has given them the Law which we should never think of as just a long list of rules.  God’s law is a guide for how to live. Jesus came to fulfill the Law so that we will know how to live by following Jesus.  We can think of God’s Law as the Will of God and the Hebrew word for WILL translates much better as God’s yearning.

Psalm 78 is part of an ancient teaching on The Law commanding us to pass it along from generation to generation.  One of our real gifts at Saint Luke’s is our families who have been here from generation to generation.  Recently at our parish Bingo night, I took a picture of Miriam Davies with her daughter, granddaughter, and great granddaughter.  I can think of several more Saint Luke’s families with 3 and 4 generations sitting together on Sunday morning to worship.  I think this is what the Psalmist is talking about.

And in our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus tells the people that he has come to fulfill the Law and the teaching of the Prophets.  If we study the scriptures and come to know Jesus, then we will fulfill all the Law and the Prophets.  Jesus breaks it down into 2 easy steps – Love God and love your neighbor.  If we do that then we automatically fulfill all the other commandments and be living according to God’s will.

And as always, we close with today’s prayer.

Give ear to our prayers, O Lord, and direct the way of your servants in safety under your protection, that, amid all the changes of our earthly pilgrimage, we may be guarded by your mighty aid; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.