Fasting in 2019

I’ve fairly recently started a journey of trying to improve my health. This has involved a wonderful naturopath who has challenged me in my eating habits. Being a carboholic I was less than thrilled with many of the suggestions, but I can definitely feel a difference in my body when I’m following the plan. It has been a sacrifice to rarely eat bread, potatoes, corn, cheese and pasta - all foods that I have always loved.

As I’ve contemplated fasting this Lent, something I haven’t really taken on in terms of food in the past, it’s hard to think of what else I would give up. Having said that, skipping a meal once a week or more is entirely doable for me. The key is it’s not about losing weight or finding more time in our day, it’s about recognizing our spiritual hunger and the need to focus on and draw close to God and to gain insight.

There are many kinds of fasting we can consider. Several friends are taking a fast from facebook. Others are following the challenge to put something cluttering their lives in a box or bag each day of Lent and then donating it at the end to the Salvation Army or some other similar organization. The Church of England has a challenge to reduce plastic use in your home and life throughout Lent. We can also follow Pope Francis’ guide to fasting from negative behaviours and choosing positive ones instead. Other versions of this “Fast from, Feast on” idea of approaching the season are readily available online.

In our culture we are so used to getting what we want when we want it, that to curb our lifestyle in any way can feel like a huge sacrifice. This should give us pause. The harder it is to give up something that is non-essential the more dependent we have become on things that really don’t matter. The harder it is to say no to busyness, constant social media posts and other interruptions, the more we recognize that we have allowed ourselves to be swept up in a frenetic culture that sustains itself on coffee and other drugs of choice.

Lent offers the chance to let go of things that eat up our time, our humanity and our core identity. We are given the opportunity to recognize that we actually are dust and will return to dust and that so much that seems crucial to us matters very little in the end. By stripping ourselves down to the essentials of who we are (children of God) and what we were meant to be (partners in God’s mission through Christ), we find freedom.

I only wish that it was easy for me to do, because it’s not. At every turn I am pulling myself from “very important” things that reinforce my many roles in people’s lives. It’s hard to turn that off and just come, like Mary, to the feet of Jesus rather than staying in the kitchen with Martha doing the necessary tasks that I convince myself are more important in that moment. For me, the discipline of putting together programs and worship helps with focus on the season and scripture and reflection. But I have to make sure that I do more than that, that I come stripped down and vulnerable, but also rejoicing and thankful, to God. I need to regularly set aside my human doings to just be a human being created and loved by God.

If we are leaders in the church, then we are models for drawing close to God to those we serve. It might be a good idea to consider how well we are demonstrating what a lifestyle of leaning in to God looks like. Matthew’s gospel tells us to do our fasting in secret, but we can still model making personal time with God a priority in our calendars. We can still talk about the difference it makes in our lives to spend time in prayer and solitude and silence. We can talk about what it feels like when we don’t get that time and how we need to value it more.

Fasting enriches our spiritual lives and lays bare perhaps what we would rather not see. It is a risk but a tremendous opportunity for spiritual growth and self-reflection and awareness. May the fast you choose add depth and meaning to your walk to Jerusalem and the cross this year.