Fasting before the Feast

The following is adapted from the sermon Fasting for the Life of the World.

Meditation

The joy of the feast is a central practice in the Christian faith, but this radiant jewel is most properly set upon the heart that has prepared for the feast with the fast.

The “elephant in the room” in a conversation on fasting is often, well, fasting. Many of us modern Christians don’t practice fasting and don’t exactly know why we would. We know that Jesus fasted and said, “When you fast . . .” in his Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:16), that the Israelites fasted (2 Sam. 1:12; Zech. 7:5), that Anna the Prophetess fasted (Luke 2:37), that the apostles fasted (Acts 13:2). Fasting is in our Bibles and in the global and historical tradition of the faith, but it is not in many of our lives. Why is that?

“American Christians don’t know how to be hungry.” That’s what Rev. Howard John Wesley, pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, preached recently. It’s a compelling explanation for our curious lack of fasting. Could it be that our faith has not been formed to seek the love of God and neighbor through fasting from food (or other material goods) because we are “too full” from the crowded surplus of our lives? Lent is a time to practice a different way of being.

Fasting has rich purposes in scripture and tradition: (1) it deepens the life of prayer through teaching our whole selves—body and soul—what it means to long, to hunger for God’s kingdom; (2)it humbles us into a repentant posture to seek God’s will in a situation where guidance, help, or forgiveness is needed; and (3) it teaches us to go without so that others may be filled, a central aspect of love in the way of Jesus.

This same Jesus who “took the form of a servant, so that He, our Bread, might hunger; that He, our Fulfillment, might thirst; that He, our Strength, might be weakened; that He, our Health, might be injured; that He, our Life, might die. . . . And all this he did to satisfy our hunger, to moisten our dryness, to soothe our infirmity, to wipe out our iniquity, to enkindle our love” (St. Augustine, Third Homily on the Lenten Season).

Exploration

PREPARE. Fasting is a form of training for the whole self and is a practice that one should ease into if just beginning. There are options and degrees of fasting: skipping one meal on a day, then two meals, then eventually three, and then multiple days. Start small and build. You can practice a water fast; a water and juice fast; a bread and water fast, etc. Whatever you do, drink lots of water! Some who are nursing mothers or who have other health conditions might not be able to do a total fast but can find another way of denying themselves in food, drink, or something else. Know what day that you will attempt to fast and prepare for that time, logistically and spiritually. Establish a rhythm, assigning certain days to be fast days during this season of Lent. One practice to consider is to begin to bake and cook in advance for the feast of Easter, getting as much of it ready beforehand so that you are prepared to rest and feast when the time comes. Preparing for the feast during the fast will deepen your understanding of both fast and feast.

PRAY. Fasting is a practice that is meant to humble us and draw us into God’s presence through intensified prayer (e.g., Ps. 35:13; Joel 2:12). It does so by showing us our emptiness, longing, and deep neediness as human creatures, which is meant to lead us to deep dependence upon the Lord and “every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Deut. 8:3). Use the mealtimes of your fast to pray and dwell in the holy presence and word of God. What particular needs—both your own and those of your neighbors—can you bring to God during your fast? Is there a particular sin in your life for which you need to seek forgiveness and repentance? Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34).

PRIORITIZE OTHERS. Fasting can be wonderful, but the scriptures also warn of its abuses: it can make us proud, irritable, and even violent (Isa. 58; Matt. 6:16-18). Do not call attention to yourself when fasting and let as few people know as possible. Serve others with your fast. Give to the poor the money you would have spent on food. Work to address the needs of hunger in your community as you get a taste of the experience of hunger in your own body. Fasting is connected to our doing of justice because God chooses this kind of fast: “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free . . . to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house . . .” (Isa. 58:6–7). Jesus fasted so that we may feast. We fast so that others may feast. And by doing so, we become like him. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6).

PREPARE. PRAY. PRIORITIZE OTHERS.