Fasting

We live in a world that teaches us to grasp at whatever we want. Take and eat. Tap and buy. We are all trained to be hungry and happy customers from the earliest of ages. The modern grand adventure of our lives is dictated by the market forces and by what those forces teach us is desirable for our lives. John the Apostle said it like this:  “For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world,” (1 John 2:16 ESV).

Matter is not evil, nor is food, sex, power, or money. What is evil is the human desire to turn goods into greats, servants into masters, means into ends. These tyrannical forces appear harmless until we find ourselves beckoning at their every whim and call. Why can’t we stop eating even to our peril? Why can’t we kick addictions that leave us feeling ashamed and empty? Why can’t we stop ourselves in the midst of anger or unkind words? Why do our feelings of significance always involve chasing more accolades, higher paychecks, and a better reputation? The answer, of course is that we have been trained in these ways; they are second nature to us in a fallen world.

Jesus came bearing the news of a different world, the “Kingdom of heaven.” Heaven being the place of God’s presence, power, and plans. The world as it was meant to be: worship, communion, gratitude, justice, rest, satisfaction; in a word: love, for God is love.

The movement of Lent, the call of the season, is to redirect desire and action towards the love of God and all God loves. To “repent.” “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent,” our Lord says to the lukewarm church of Laodicea, (Revelation 3:19 ESV). The word translated “zealous” here is a word of desire. Jesus says, in effect: “want it!”

Want what? A different kind of world than we’ve been trained for. God’s kind of world. And how do we get there? How do we get to a place of actually wanting the good? Like anything good in our lives, the source of that goodness is God himself and his gracious activity. But, of course, our call is to participate and grow in that grace. This participation can come in many tangible forms but for the purpose of our Lenten context, it seems that the most pressing exploration is that of fasting, for fasting hits us where it counts: in our bodies.

The practice of abstaining from food interrupts the flow of our desire for satisfaction. “Take and eat” becomes “stop and wait.” That movement is far more profound and foundational than we realize. Even if we simply fast from sweet things or meat, it will not be long before we encounter our strong desire for those things over against our intention to abstain. And it is here, in the place of our desire, where something profound can take place over time. We can learn, in our bodies, that we are not a slave to our desires; that there is freedom to choose what we want in a new way, even if those feelings are conflicted. In that moment, we can lean into brief prayers or meditations over Jesus’ loving self-denial.

Then, this training can begin to flow into different areas of desire in our bodies: the taming of our tongue (Jam. 3:5-8), the control of our sexual desires (1 Cor. 6:19), our materialism, our violence, and our proliferation of words (Eccl. 3:7). St. Paul says it like this: “But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified,” (1 Cor. 9:27 ESV).

All of this discipline (a bad word in the modern world if there ever was one!) is not an end in itself. Any “spiritual” discipline can be a source of great abuse to the soul if it is not sourced in and aimed toward love. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” says our Lord. (Jn.14:15 ESV). Fasting is a practice to help train our desires toward that love of Christ. Our world desperately needs witnesses for a different kind of world. Our call is to be martyrs (witnesses) to this heavenly kingdom.

How can you begin or deepen your practice of fasting in this Lenten season, especially as we approach Holy Week? See more practical tips in this article. And, as always, I’m available if you want to talk further about these things; simply send me a note!

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” (Col. 3:15 ESV)

Grace and peace,

Pastor Joel