Most everyone from the atheist UPS driver to the devoutly Christian college student knows when it’s Mardi Gras. Fat Tuesday has become day sanctioned for indulgence, a warm-up for another well-known date on the Christian calendar, St. Patrick’s Day. Drawing far less notoriety is the time after Mardi Gras, the season of Lent. Feasting on the Tuesday before Lent came as a result of the tradition of beginning a fast on Ash Wednesday. This is an article examining what fasting is and why it every Christian should consider the practice.
Eating is good. Eating is fun. Most everyone finds pleasure in putting food in his or her mouth. So it’s peculiar to suggest that one should purposely go without food, especially when most of us think we’re suffering enough as it is. We often rely on that special snack for energy to get through the afternoon. Food is a hobby and escape as much as it is necessary for life. Yet most every of the major world religions observe and endorse fasting as a way to experience God.
Fasting is the intentional abstaining from food for spiritual purposes. It is a Christian discipline along with worship, reading scripture, prayer, meditation and so on. Those who hunger for God have experienced God by being hungry. When we read the Bible, we find fasting a common practice. Those who fasted include Moses, David, Elijah, Daniel, the prophetess Anna, the apostle Paul, and Jesus Christ.
Among Protestants, fasting has traditionally been a neglected practice. I was raised in a time and place where the unspoken Lutheran code was “watch what the Roman Catholics do and then do the opposite”. Lenten fasts were uncommon. Four years of seminary classes never touched on the subject. As a new pastor out of seminary, I was surprised by how many in the church I served were interested in giving up something for Lent. Even those who hadn’t attended church since Christmas Eve were suddenly coming up to me saying they’d given up chocolate until Easter. I privately wondered why any grace-centered Christian would want to invite that kind of penitential suffering into their lives.
…their god is the belly… Philippians 3:19
But when we look at our culture, we find we have plenty of issues with food. I can sit down in front of the television and eat an entire package of Girl Scout Cookies without thinking about it. No bag of Twizzlers within my reach is going make it to sundown. I’d be more embarrassed of this if I didn’t know how common overindulgence is. Food is plentiful and cheap.. We live in a country that is a watershed for the greatest kinds of food the world has to offer. Most every waking moment media bombard us with mouth-watering images of food No wonder we eat so much. But there is a cost. The more one eats, the more one wants to eat. It has been discovered that foods high in fat, salt and sugar alter the brain’s chemistry in ways that compel people to overeat. We are seeing the consequences of these food issues in our healthcare system, where obesity and diabetes rates continue to climb.
In his letter to the Philippians, Paul describes those who are on a path of destruction, saying “their god is the belly”. Gluttony is among the most tolerated sins within the Christian community. Yet Paul offers a warning that consumption brings consequences. In addition to being harmful to our bodies, over-indulgence is not good for our spiritual well-being either. Fasting is an antidote to being guided by our bellies rather than being guided by God.
Consumption is problem for our nation. An estimated 27% of the food on grocery store shelves ends up in a landfill never eaten. Consider for a moment the energy and resources required to plant, grow, transport, shelve and market all that food. We are being wasteful. Fasting slows our participation in a culture that wastes resources.
Many Kinds of Fasting
There isn’t one way to fast. Traditionally people think of fasting as refraining from eating all-together. I don’t recommend this for first-time fasters. But there are other, more sustainable and realistic ways to fast.
+Go Vegetarian
+Don’t Eat Processed foods, sugar
+Eat One Meal a Day
For Lenten fasting purposes, I prefer eating only one meal a day. The hunger is real, but the goal is attainable. Liquids such as juice, coffee, and broth can still be consumed. One meal a day for over a month sounds do-able, but it is not easy. Our stomachs have been conditioned to receive food at regular intervals, which is not to be confused with real hunger. Taming the stomach is no easy task.
What’s the point?
Christians know that adversity commonly enriches one’s faith in ways prosperity does not. Fasting brings adversity to one’s daily existence in a small, controlled way. In seeking God in prayer when we experience hunger, his presence is experienced in a unique way.
By fasting, we attest that Jesus is Lord, not our unending appetite for indulgence . When Jesus fasted, he was tempted by Satan to turn rocks into bread. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy saying “’One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Those words have never been more real to me than when fasting.
But is it Lutheran?
Call me post-modern, call me post-denominational, but for as much as I treasure our identity as Lutheran, I am open to Christian practices regardless if they are traditionally considered Lutheran or not. Nonetheless, it is worthy question to consider.
During the Reformation Martin Luther sought to eradicate a handful of traditions that he deemed unbiblical and theologically unsound for Christians. One practice he did promote was fasting. In one of his sermons, he wrote “Of fasting I say this: it is right to fast frequently in order to subdue and control the body. For when the stomach is full, the body does not serve for preaching, for praying, for studying, or for doing anything else that is good. Under such circumstances God’s Word cannot remain. But one should not fast with a view to meriting something by it as by a good work”
Some Christians suggest that fasting is a means to untold blessings and prosperity. I am not of that opinion. God is not a slot machine where one plugs-in half-dollars waiting to hit the jackpot. Fasting doesn’t charm God into a new reality. Instead, fasting is a way by which one’s relationship with God is deepened and enriched.
Fasting is not for everyone. Those who suffer from health complications should first consult with their doctor. Those who fast with the aim of losing weight while getting good with God will be disappointed. You gain the weight back at the end of the fast.
But for those yearn to experience God in a new way I recommend fasting. Sometimes less is more. Fasting is proof of that.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Matthew 5:6
Pastor Jason Talsness
Further Reading:
Fasting by Jentezen Franklin
Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster (Chapter 4).
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by Dr. Richard Kessler
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18martin.html?_r=1
Posted March 9, 2011 by Amazing Grace Lutheran Church | Pastors Corner, Uncategorized | Permalink |
