There
once was a little boy named Bobby, who desperately wanted a new bicycle. His
plan was to save his nickels, dimes and quarters until he finally had enough to
buy a new 10-speed bike. Each night he asked God to help him save his money.
Kneeling beside his bed, he prayed, “Dear Lord, please help me save my money
for a new bike, and please, Lord, don’t let the ice cream man come down the
street again tomorrow.”
During the season of Lent we prepare ourselves to
share in and celebrate the real reason for our faith; namely, Christ’s death
and resurrection. Lent is a spiritual desert similar to Christ’s 40 days in the
desert, or the Israelites’ 40 years in the desert in the Book of Exodus, or
Christ’s journey to Jerusalem. We live this experience in our lives during the
annual observation of Lent.
One
of the ways people of faith mark this period of time is by fasting, just like
Christ fasted for 40 days in the desert. Fasting involves sacrifice,so people
can give up more than just food for Lent. They can give up things such as bad
habits, text messaging or social networks such as Facebook, but for centuries
the main thing that was given up for Lent was food. For example, we can give up
things such as:
1. Anger and hatred
2. Judging others
3. Discouragement
4. Complaining
5. Resentment or bitterness
6. Spending too much money (Nash)
Anything
that controls us or that we can’t say no to lords over us. If it takes God’s
place in our lives, it is an idol and we are living in something similar to
idolatry (unknown, Fasting). When we come
to a fork in the road of life, we may be tempted to give in to our physical
needs and ignore our spiritual needs. Unless we have disciplined ourselves, and
attended to our spiritual needs in an ongoing way, we may give in to the
tempter (Dunnam). In other words, we
might be tempted to used one of comedian Flip Wilson’s famous lines---“The devil made me do it!”
Fasting
is a metaphor for our desire for God. It makes some people feel cleaner, purer
and more in control (unknown, Fasting: Act of
Devotion or Violence?, 2009). It allows us to have a simpler life, even
if only for a short period of time. It teaches us something about God as Jesus
shows God to us. It allows us to call on Christ’s power to shove out sin so
that we can live spiritually (Klaus, 2005).
Fasting forces us to remember our spiritual poverty, which in turn allows us to
recognize God’s loving action to make things right between him and us through
Jesus Christ (Bass). The result is a
spiritual death that shows our sorrow for our sins (Brockhoff). It makes the path to the cross inexpressibly and
unbelievably rewarding. True fasting is good for our health (spiritually and
physically), self-discipline, helping us break bad habits, appreciating what we
love, and preserving the ability to do without.
Fasting
and Lent provide us with a time to focus on what is always true. God is always
reaching out to enable us to change, be renewed and deepen our commitment to
him and his chosen community. We do this through repentance. Fasting is just
one way of showing our desire to repent. Our repentance is a gift of grace. Repentance
by itself does not cause or forgiveness or make us worthy to receive it. It is
based on grace-specifically, the knowledge that God is kind and ready to
forgive. Fasting counteracts our daily habits of excessive consumption and
makes us aware of God’s promptings and the needs of others. (Sison, 2010) Leo, Bishop of Rome, once wrote:
“The sum total of our fasting does not
consist in merely abstaining from food. In vain do we deny our body food if we
do not withhold our heart from wickedness and restrain our lips so that they
speak no evil. We must so moderate our rightful use of food that our other
desires may be subject to the same rule. They therefore who desire to do good
works, let them not fear that they shall be without the means, since even for
two given pennies, the generosity of the poor widow of the Gospel was
glorified!”
Fasting
in repentance means we realize that what we did was wrong, and that whatever
replaced God in our lives was wrong. Fasting forces us to change our way of
living for awhile. It allows God to step in and change the course of our lives.
It allows us to put our basic needs into a lower priority so that we can
concentrate on the task at hand. In this case, the task at hand is the
commemoration of Christ’s death and resurrection.
Fasting
does not mean totally abstaining from food. In the words of Saint Thomas
Aquinas (Waldman, 2009), fasting should
be introduced in order to “bridle the concupiscences of the flesh, which regard
pleasures of touch in connection with food and sex”. We need to eat to live,
and not the other way around. Those who are fasting are asked to eat only what
is necessary, usually only one or two meals a day. Snacking, sweets or
indulgences are not allowed. (Fitzpatrick, 2009)
There
is a time and a place for fasting. It must not be done during a time of
celebration such as a wedding anniversary. In fact, the 40 days of Lent DO NOT
include Sundays because they are a celebration of Christ’s victory over death
and sin. Fasting is not to be used as a substitute for dieting. It must also
not be used as a form of self-punishment or as an excuse to harm yourself in a
way that would make you a burden to others. It is not an excuse for being
grouchy, stingy or rude. Fasting must be done in such a way that it shows our
dependence on God, brings us closer to God, and gives energy to our prayers (unknown, Lent: 40 Days of Prayer & Fasting).
Fasting
does not serve to change God’s mind, speed up his answer, or manipulate his
will. Instead, it prepares us to hear from him by temporarily laying aside
anything that competes for our attention. It allows us to focus on Christ and
hear him clearly (Stanley, 2010).
Jesus
began his ministry by fasting for 40 days in the desert. He suspended his
earthly appetite in order to focus not only on preparing for his earthly
ministry, but also to satisfy his spiritual hunger. Fasting puts us in touch
with the fact that we ARE created with an appetite for God, just like Jesus had
an appetite for God. It really does not matter what one abstains from in
fasting. The important thing is to suspend the usual earthly appetites in life
that seek immediate gratification so that we can recover our deeper spiritual
hunger and thirst for God and his ready grace. (Hohenthaner,
2008)
In
our faith journey, there will be times when we have to hold out in the midst of
spiritual battles. Fasting can give us the strength we need to achieve victory.
It gives us the strength to hold on. God has promised us that we will not be
placed in situations where we will have more put on us than we can bear.
Fasting serves as a whet stone that we can use to sharpen our discernment,
expose our wrong thinking and wrong attitudes, and bring about a single-minded
focus on the things of God. Jesus used his fast to prepare him not only for
Satan’s temptations, but to focus on his earthly mission and his father’s will.
Contrary to what most people might think, Jesus was not weak from his fast. In
fact, just the opposite---he gained spiritual strength for his journey to the
cross and the ultimate success of his mission. (Hyde)
In
Deuteronomy 8:3, we read “He humbled you
by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you
nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the Lord”. There is a connection between the manna that
the Israelites received in the wilderness and the bread with which the devil
tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Israel’s need for bread was secondary to
Israel’s need to understand that God gives bread. Because he understands that
fact, Jesus can resist the temptation to take matters into his own hands. (Donovan)
We
are in the same situation. Our earthly needs are secondary to our need to
understand that God will supply our earthly needs. I emphasize the word needs.
God will not supply us with a Mercedes-Benz car when a Volkswagen Beetle will
be sufficient. God will not supply us with a huge mansion when a two-room
bungalow will be sufficient. God will not provide us with a banquet that is fit
for a king when a sandwich will be sufficient. He will supply our needs, and
not our wants or desires. Fasting from anything that is not necessary for our
earthly life will allow us to focus on the preparations we have to make for our
spiritual life. Fasting is a spiritual discipline. It reminds us of our human
weakness and encourages us to acknowledge our dependence on God. (Donovan)
Life
is not just about the material things. It is also about a Word coming from the
very mouth of God. In response to the temptation to throw himself into the rat
race called material satisfaction, Jesus finds a calm centre, an anchor in the
word of God. That centered faith will enable him to deal with all the other
temptations to come. As it was with Jesus, so it is with us (Harnish)
Works Cited
Bass, G. M. (n.d.). The
Call of the Trumpet. Retrieved January 27, 2010, from Esermons.com: www.esermons.com
Brockhoff, B. (n.d.). Fasting
in a Fast-Food World. Retrieved January 27, 2010, from Esermons.com:
www.esermons.com
Donovan, D. (n.d.). Luke
4:1-13 The Frst Sunday in Lent. Retrieved Feb. 21, 2010, from
Sermonwriter.com: www.sermonwriter.com
Dunnam, M. (n.d.). At
the Fork in the Road. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2010, from Esermons.com:
www.esermons.com
Fitzpatrick, D. L.
(2009, January 16). Lenten Fasting & Abstinences for Children.
Retrieved January 27, 2010, from Catholic Practices: www.catholic-practices.suite101.com/article.cfm/lenten-fasting-and-abstinence-for-children.html
Harnish, J. E. (n.d.). Out
of Solitude. Retrieved Feb. 28, 2010, from Esermons.com: www.esermons.com
Hohenthaner, C. (2008,
March 1). Bishop discusses Lent, fasting. Retrieved Jan. 27, 2010, from
Rapid City Journal:
www.rapidcityjournal.com/lifestlyes/faith-and-values/religion/article_4f2878e7-5b2...
Hyde, D. R. (n.d.). Luke
4:1-13 According to the Scriptures. Retrieved Feb. 2010, from
Lectionary.org: www.lectionary.org.
Klaus, R. K. (2005,
February 15). Fasting. Retrieved January 27, 2010, from Lutheran Hour
Ministries: www.lhm.org/dailydevotions.asp?date=20050215
Nash, F. A. (n.d.). Lent.
Retrieved Feb 23, 2010
Sison, M. N. (2010,
Feb. 16). Lent: A time to take stock, get back on track. Retrieved Feb.
16, 2010, from Anglican Journal:
www.anglicanjournal.com/100.article/lent-a-time-to-take-stock-get-back-on-track
Stanley, D. C. (2010,
January 26). Biblical Fasting. Retrieved January 27, 2010, from
Crosswalk: www.crosswalkmail.com
unknown. (n.d.). Fasting.
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unknown. (n.d.). Fasting
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http://preachingpeace.blogspot.com//preaching_peace/2009/03/fasting.html
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February). Fasting for Lent: Reduce Your Lustful, "Seminal
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