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The whole time I was growing up in the church I don't think I ever heard a single sermon about fasting. When I was a kid, all I knew about fasting was that all my Catholic friends ate fish on Fridays in the spring. I never really understood why...except that it had something to do with Lent. I remember joining my friend Helen for fish sticks at her house on the occasional Friday. And I remember being glad to stay home the next Friday where my mom was serving meatloaf…or chicken hotdish…or pork chops. We Lutherans didn't fast during Lent. I never really understood why not…except that it had something to do with not being Catholic.
A few decades have elapsed since then, and Protestants have-for the most part-gotten over the idea that just because Catholics do something is a good enough reason for Protestants to avoid doing the same thing. In fact, all sorts of Protestants-from Lutherans to Presbyterians to Pentecostals-have learned that maybe this whole fasting thing is not such a bad idea after all. It might actually be a good thing. It might be a valuable spiritual discipline. It might even have biblical precedent.
This is the Book of Common Worship of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It has all sorts of resources to help in the planning of worship services. I used it as a resource when planning the Ash Wednesday worship service. Listen to this…it comes from the resources for Ash Wednesday, which is the first day of Lent...it's something the pastor may choose to say as part of what's called the 'Invitation to the Observance of the Lenten Discipline.' It goes like this: "I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God."
It turns out that pastors have been using words a lot like these to invite their parishioners into the season of Lent for hundreds and hundreds of years. Since the very earliest years of the church, Christians have practiced the discipline of fasting in the days and weeks before Easter as part of their preparation to remember Good Friday and celebrate the Resurrection.
I'm guessing that for some of you the idea of fasting during Lent raises all sorts of questions. Maybe questions like these: Where does fasting appear in the Bible? Did Jesus fast? What did Jesus teach about fasting? What does it mean to fast anyway? What's the connection between fasting and Lent? What's the big deal about Friday? Why do they call it the forty days of Lent when it lasts 46 days? Should I fast during Lent? If so, how?
Some of the greatest figures in the Old Testament fasted. Moses stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights when he was receiving instruction from God concerning the tabernacle (Exodus 24:18). He spent another forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and inscribe them on new tablets of stone, fasting the whole time (Exodus 34:28). Elijah fasted too, for forty days and nights as he traveled to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).
The Law of Moses contains the requirement to fast on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) (Leviticus 23:26-32). The Jews of Jesus' time honored this Fast, as do Jews of today. This is the Fast referred to in Acts 27:9.
The prophet Zechariah mentions periodic fasts that the Israelites observed during their exile in Babylon (Zechariah 8:19). In the fourth month of the year they fasted on the anniversary of the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. In the fifth month, they fasted to commemorate the burning of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple. In the seventh month, they fasted on the anniversary of the assassination of Gedaliah, the puppet governor of Judah put in place by the Babylonian king. In the tenth month, they fasted to commemorate the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
The Book of Esther also tells of a fast…this one responding to particular circumstances of the moment. After Esther's uncle Mordecai called upon Esther to petition the king of Persia on behalf of the Jewish people, Esther called for a three-day fast by all the Jews in the capital city, to help her prepare to approach the king. (Esther 4:16)
Scattered throughout the Old Testament there is mention of public national fasts on account of sin or to seek favor from God (1 Samuel 7:6, 2 Chronicles 20:3, Jeremiah 36:6-10, Nehemiah 9:1). For example, when the Israelites turned again to the Lord and put away their idols in the time of Samuel, they fasted and confessed their rebellion and sought God's mercy and favor.
Also scattered throughout the Old Testament is mention of local fasts (Judges 20:26, 2 Samuel 1:12, 1 Samuel 31:13, 1 Kings 21:9-12, Ezra 8:21-23, Jonah 3:5-9) and sometimes personal fasting (1 Samuel 1:7 & 20:34, 2 Samuel 3:35 & 12:16, 1 Kings 21:27, Ezra 10:6, Nehemiah 1:4, Daniel 10:2-3). When Nehemiah, while in exile in Babylon, heard about the destruction of Jerusalem, he mourned and fasted and prayed intercession for the city. Later, when the exiles gathered for their return journey to Jerusalem after their long residence in Babylon, Ezra proclaimed a fast that the people "might humble (themselves) before (their) God and ask him for a safe journey".
It is clear that fasting was a common and honorable practice among the people of God.
At the same time, the Old Testament contains more than one admonishment against fasting done for the wrong reasons, in the wrong way.
In Isaiah 58, the prophet records God's rebuke: "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarrelling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?" (Isaiah. 58:3-5). (Also, Jeremiah 14:12, Zechariah 7:5.)
Fasting that reflects false humility designed to manipulate God is not acceptable to God. Fasting for the appearance of piety that has no connection to loving behavior is not acceptable to God. The discipline of fasting does not mask or excuse behaviors of exploitation or divisiveness. Fasting that attempts the outward appearance of humility while inwardly reflecting selfish motivations is not acceptable to God.
When Jesus cautions against fasting with improper motives in Matthew chapter 6, he is standing firmly in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets. "Don't fast to be seen by other people," he says. "Fast to be seen by the Father." In other words, fasting that attempts the outward appearance of humility while inwardly reflecting selfish motivations is not acceptable to God.
But Jesus himself fasted. We know, at the very least, that he fasted for forty days and forty nights, just like Moses and Elijah. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus went out into the desert, fasting, for forty days and forty nights, and he was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-2).
Jesus didn't require fasting of his disciples while he was with them, and he didn't prescribe any rules about fasting. Jesus did, however, indicate that he expected that his disciples would practice the discipline of fasting after he was no longer with them. Mark records that "people came and asked Jesus, 'How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?' Jesus answered, 'How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.'" (Mark 2:18-20)
Even when Jesus cautioned against abuses of the discipline of fasting, he did not say, "If you fast…", but "When you fast…"
The Book of Acts records the practice of fasting by the early church (Acts 13:20-3 & 14:23). By the second century, it was common for Christians to observe two days of intense fasting before Easter.
According to the thesaurus on my computer, fasting has the following synonyms: not eat, abstain, go on a hunger strike, refuse to eat, starve yourself. While the spiritual discipline of fasting does indeed involve not eating, or abstaining from food, it is not about going on a hunger strike or refusing to eat or self-starvation. It is not the objective of fasting to cause physical damage to your body.
A total fast involves abstaining from food for a period of time, while continuing to drink water. It's always important to drink water. And, depending on circumstances, it may not be appropriate to do a total fast. Women who are pregnant or nursing, persons with diabetes or other health complications, and people who are working physically strenuous jobs should not observe a total fast.
For these circumstances, and for those who do not wish to abstain from food completely for other reasons, partial fasts can serve the same purposes. A partial fast means abstaining from only certain foods or abstaining for only part of a day.
A fast doesn't necessarily have to be about food, either. Some people choose to partially or totally abstain from TV or email or something else for awhile.
How long should a fast last?
That depends. A fast should last long enough to truly reflect the motivations of the one fasting. A fast should be as long as God calls the one fasting to fast and no longer. That might be a day. That might be a week. That might be longer. There is no single answer to this question.
A partial Lenten fast might encompass the entire 40 days of Lent.
Or it might just involve Fridays. Fridays are often chosen as the day of the week to emphasize fasting because of Good Friday. That was the day of the week on which Jesus died, and so fasting on Friday may help believers remember and reflect upon the suffering of Christ.
If we chose to emulate the practice of the early church, we might fast beginning the night of Maundy Thursday or sometime on Good Friday, until the first feast on Easter morning.
If fasting is not supposed to be about making a show of humility or piety or attempting to manipulate God, what is the purpose of fasting?
Fasting serves as a symbol and as an active reminder and demonstration.
Choosing to fast can be an expression of true humility. At the same time, the experience of fasting is a humbling experience. As our hunger pangs flare up, we are reminded that we are indeed limited beings, desperately in need of the generous provision of our God who provides not only food to eat but also air to breathe and grace for salvation.
Choosing to fast can be an expression of true mourning-mourning over immediate and real losses as we see loved ones succumb to debilitating disease or death, mourning over the brokenness of creation as we look around at a world of hurt, mourning over our own brokenness as we acknowledge how we ourselves have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. At the same time, the experience of fasting can teach us to mourn. As our hunger pangs flare up, perhaps the blinders that we wear so much of the time will fall from our eyes and we will notice in a new way the brokenness of this world and of ourselves.
Choosing to fast can be an expression of love and charity-as we voluntarily experience temporary hunger we can stand in solidarity with the many in this world who suffer involuntary hunger…for food or safety or dignity or God himself. At the same time, the experience of fasting can plant new seeds of love and charity in our hearts. As our hunger pangs flare up, perhaps we will gain new empathy for others who hunger.
Choosing to fast can be an expression of penitence-as we humble ourselves before God and confess the many ways that we have rebelled against his authority and taken for granted his provision and presumed upon his mercy. At the same time, the experience of fasting can bring us to repentance. As our hunger pangs flare up, perhaps the walls of defensiveness and denial we have built around our hearts will begin to crumble and we will gain new awareness of our own rebellious natures.
Why fast during Lent? On one hand, there is no particular reason that Lent should call us to deeper humility or mourning or love or repentance than any other time of year. On the other hand, the reality is that the weeks leading up to Good Friday and Easter are a time of preparation unlike any other time of year. The three-day weekend when Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from the dead is the most important, most pivotal, most amazing, most wonderful, most transformational, most significant three-day weekend in the history of creation. Why not set aside the weeks leading up to this three-day weekend for special intention before God?
The forty days of Lent commemorate the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert. The reason Lent takes 46 days is that Sundays don't count. Even during the season of Lent, every Sunday is a little resurrection day, a little Easter, a feast day.
So, if you choose to fast this Lent, break your fast on Sundays. Sundays are feast days!
Should you fast this Lent? I can't tell you. But I can invite you to bring it before God. Ask him. He'll let you know.
In any case, this first Sunday in Lent, I invite all of you, in the name of Christ, to observe a holy Lent by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by works of love, and by reading and meditating on the Word of God.
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