What is fasting all about, and why in the world someone would even think of doing it? We'll start with that question this week, and move on, in the weeks to follow, to each of the other desert disciplines.
But the very first order of business is to grab hold of one essential truth: the three desert disciplines work together. By all means, dive headlong into each one. But don't forget about the others, or you'll end up spiritually off-balance...
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Mention "Lent" to almost anyone, and the first thing they'll think of is fasting. Even those who know very little about Christianity are familiar with the idea of "giving up something for Lent." And truly, for those who would journey with Jesus to the cross, fasting is powerfully important.
Jesus apparently took it for granted that his disciples would fast. He taught them the right approach to take not "if" but "when" they fasted (Matthew 6:16). He affirmed the outward practice while highlighting the priority of the heart.
As I fast, I open up space in my heart for God. And I'm reminded that what sits at the center of the universe is not me and my desires, but God and his kingdom. So fasting goes hand in hand with another desert discipline: praying. I open up space through fasting precisely so that I might invite God to fill it.
And walking more closely and prayerfully with God, I find myself drawn into his purpose and mission. The prophet Isaiah understood that fasting and prayer lead naturally to a deep concern for others:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
So for Isaiah (and Jesus), fasting was important -- but useless all by itself. While the spirituality to which God calls us is inward and humble, it's also outward and other-focused. Unless personal spirituality blossoms into love for others, it's really not worth much at all. Fasting is not an end in itself, but a beginning. It opens the door so that we might participate in God's giving of himself to others. We find ourselves drawn into the third desert discipline, almsgiving.
Without giving, fasting and prayer are ingrown. Without fasting, prayer can be self-indulgent and giving can remain anemic. And without prayer, the other disciplines become human accomplishments rather than grace-empowered acts of love.
This week, we'll get down to business and explore first steps in fasting. Today, you might begin by simply inviting God to help you strike a holy balance. Ask God to help you learn to fast, one way or another, in an authentic, humble, inward way. At the same time--ask God to help you, that your discipline of fasting not become an end in itself.
May our fasting connect us deeply to God in prayer, and lovingly to others as we learn to give ourselves away.
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