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 The Lord's Fast
by Pastor Rachel Davies June 6, 2009 Material is largely from Scot McKnight's book "Fasting" I. The Lord's Supper Today is a special day appointed for feasting. In the upper room, before he was betrayed and crucified, Jesus instituted the Lord's supper: the bread of his broken body and the wine of his blood spilled for us were prefigured the divine wedding banquet that we will one day celebrate with him in his Father's house. Jesus came that we might have life, and more abundantly at that. He brought the Kingdom of God TO US, announcing that he had come to bind up the broken hearted, to set at liberty those who are captive, and to proclaim the year of our Lord. Once Jesus was questioned about the fasting practices of his disciples. "We fast," the religious leaders said. "John the Baptist's disciples fasted. Why don't yours?" Jesus said, "No one fasts while the bridegroom is present. After I leave, then they will fast." We, his followers, would fast, because although Jesus initiated the Kingdom, it wasn't fulfilled yet. God is not yet fully unveiled on this earth in his glory and utter loving majesty. Babies still die of hunger, people still lose their jobs and their homes. Loneliness and isolation still alienates God's beloved children. And so, at Jesus' death, we were thrust into a life filled with both feasting and fasting: feasting in response to the promise of abundance, and fasting in response to the fact that the promise remain YET unfulfilled. Jesus must hurt the most over our pain, because while we are to feast, particularly in the Lord's Supper, Jesus himself is currently engaged in a very long fast! Matt 26:29: "I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." The Lord's Supper initiated him into a time of fasting. At this time, too, we believe that our church is being called into a time of prayer and fasting over the hurt in this broken world. And that is what we are here for today, why we celebrate this sacred meal in mindfulness of the tender heart of our Lord that led him to the cross. II. The grievous moment Fasting leads us in social conscience of poverty. (Isaiah) 1. Our mission is the build a church that shouts the gospel with our lives-that reaches out into the community-that is not rigidly attached to a building, but rather to the hurting children of God, whether they are in or outside these four walls. God's desire for those of us who ARE here is that through the process of discipleship we would mature into his evangelists and compassionate agents, who are indeed ready to "leave the building" for his Kingdom's sake. 2. But right now a medium through which we have seen this mission able to be lived has come to a standstill that is frustrating a lot of people on the church's leadership team. 3. THE STOREFRONT. Several people in our church and community had this dream-a real radical way for the church to "leave the building." All of the pieces came together so that it seemed God was involved. But now it feels like we've come up against a brick wall. How should we respond? 4. I found help from Scot McKnight in answering this question, and I must credit him with most of the material I'm sharing today. How did the Jews of the OT and the early Christians respond when they came to standstills? III. Full bodied-prayer That is, prayer expressed with the whole body-"Whole-body hungering for God." Baptist John Piper writes that those who have fasted in the history of the Christian church "were hungry enough for God's leading that they wanted to say it with the hunger of their bodies and not just the hunger of their hearts." Xix. Body prayer, or fasting, leads us into listening prayer through attentiveness to our whole selves. It is integrated communion with God. "Fasting makes our prayers doubly real." IV. Body Image Fasting is a scary subject-often quickly dismissed as archaic or legalistic or overly radical. The fact is, it's biblical. And not only has fasting been practiced for centuries by Jews and Christians, but every major religion (and probably the minor ones too) have practiced fasting throughout history. This should indicate to us that the practice is natural. Why do we not fast anymore? Platonic body image. Rather than seeing our bodies as intrinsic to our being, we carry false body images. 1) BAD-and so we fall into destructive asceticism. 2) ALL THERE IS- and become hedonists. 3) WHERE MOST OF US FALL- somewhere in between. We simply ignore our bodies. But along the whole spectrum the truth is reflected that we do not see our bodies as connected with our spirit. We don't look at our flesh and say "this is good. This is beloved. My whole unit is beloved of God." Instead we say that "since fasting is a very physical thing, it must be assigned to the body. And since fasting concerns only the body, it can't be that important." P5. But this only betrays the non-biblical dualism present in our thinking. Kathleen Dugan: Fasting in Christianity is only truly itself when we it realizes the sacredness of the body. P.12 Whole body response to the situation we find ourselves in as a community. V. Biblical examples 1. Leviticus 23, the institution of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Vs. 7: "deny" or "afflict" yourself to bring the whole person into an awareness of sin and the need for repentance. P. 26, 27 2. The missing ark in 1 Sam. The ark represented God's presence and it was captured by the Philistines. Eli's daughter in law named her son Ichabod-"The glory of God has departed." (1 Sam 4). So Samuel calls all Israel to gather and pray and fast. A stone is set up called Ebenezer- "stone of God's help." The Israelites yearned for God's presence, expressed in fasting, and the yearning was blessed by God. 3. Ezra, after the return of the exiles and the rebuilding of the temple, when faced with the faithlessness of Israel. Ezra 10 Ezra takes on their sin and the grief of God in response to their sin. In our case, fast to take on God's feelings of compassion for the poor: "Many of us are moved emotionally by the realization of needs and our complicity in poverty, but we are far too often more moved emotionally than we are moved to do something about it. Fasting might be the best way for many of us to seal the moment; fasting for a day might be what we most need to change our own pathetic passivity in the face of famine. It may be the way for each of us to bring our entire person in line with God's heart for the poor." P. 33 4. Soul/Paul-had been opposing GOD! 5. Hannah, the mother of Samuel who wanted a child and wept at Shiloh. "Sometimes we want something: sometimes we need something. And sometimes we want something so much that we convert our wants into body plea." P. 46 6. Daniel, in the midst of the visions we find so interesting. 7. Direction: The believers worshipping and fasting and praying when direction came to set apart Barnabas and Paul for missionary work. Acts 13:-3 This is our situation. We simply don't know what to do! We are aching to listen to God. 8. How about Jesus, who prayed and fasted before beginning what was the most important ministry in all of earth's history? VI. Early church/modern examples 1. Didache, done purely in prep for baptism for the first couple centuries. 2. John Calvin: "Whenever men are to pray to God concerning any great matter, it would be expedient to appoint fasting along with prayer. There sole purpose in this kind of fasting is to render themselves more eager and unencumbered for prayer… with a full stomach our mind is not so lifted up to God." Xxvii. 3. Two very modern examples from, remarkably, politicians in the '90s- one from Ohio, even. (And I was too young to care about politics in the '90s, so please forgive me if these examples are of unexemplory or distasteful people to you. The illustrations still stand. a) One of these men was Ohio Representative and devout Christian Tony Hall. Fasted for days and then asked Christians to fast three days prior to Easter to "raise the consciousness of the nation." He said, "I want people to begin to realize that there are 25 million Americans that are hungry, who go to food banks and soup kitchens, and half of them are under the age of 17." Hall used fasting to express solidarity with the poor. Meals have traditionally been associated with relationship, because people take meals with one another. McKnight says that "When a group protests by fasting, they both negate one relationship-with the haves-and they affirm another relationship-with the have-nos. And since the structures of power always have sufficient food, fasting is not only refusing relationship, but it is also protesting the power structures that exist. b) Perhaps even more impressive then the story of Tony Hall is the story of David Duncombe. At the turn of the new millennium Duncombe decided to stand fasting with the poor for 45 days in the halls of congress. Debt hung heavy on the shoulders of many developing countries, and the tax their citizens paid only covered the INTEREST accrued on loans they had taken from rich countries like the US. Duncombe said that "Until the burden of debt is lifted from the poor, I am morally constrained to stand with them in their hunger." A $435 million bill was passed forgiving the debt of countries like Uganda, which was set up in trust to fight the AIDS epidemic and to feed the hungry. Now, we're not trying to pass any bills here. We are not politicians. But we are rooting for the Kingdom of God, where there will certainly be no hunger and where every debt will be forgiven and forgotten and there will be no more tears or crying or pain for the old order of things will be passed away. That text is an urgent hope for later, but it is also a promise we live now. We want a share in loosening the bonds of injustice here in the city of Toledo. We want to bind up the broken-hearted and proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That is what we are body-praying for. VII. Pitfalls 1. Legalism Fasting doesn't get us to God. Fasting springs from our hearts. It is full-bodied response to need, in this case our need for guidance. "Fasting, like all the spiritual disciplines, is designed to develop love of God and love of others. If it is not doing that, something is wrong." P.139 Fasting humbles us into these things 2. Hypocrisy Matthew 6:16-18: "And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." The point here is not that we can only ever fast privately and in secret, but that our fasting must not be about show. As we've already seen, there are plenty of examples of when God's people have fasted as a community and it has been blessed by God. That's what we want to do. 3. Meritoriousness Thomas Ryan: "The tendency is to think that God will love us if we change, but God loves us so that we CAN change. Penitential practices and disciplines [like fasting] enable us to appropriate and make real in our lives the freedom given through grace." Cannot emphasize enough that fasting is not something we do to win God's favor. We already have his favor. We pray and fast because it is the biblical response of humans who find themselves in need of God's guidance. 4. Benefit-it is This is not to lose weight or be healthier or to get something out of God. We are not fasting so that God will give us the storefront. We are fasting because it is the biblical response to a situation that longs to hear God's will. 5. Extremism 6. An excuse for gluttony on either end Mardigras. "Eat all the chocolate you can before tomorrow." VIII. Benefits 1. Fasting does not bring the benefit in and of itself-it isn't magical and it doesn't come with guarantees. The benefit, if we get any, is a gift from the goodness of God. By fasting we are just putting ourselves in a posture of receptivity. 2. Freedom from bad habits Foster: "More than any other Discipline, fasting reveals the things that control us. And anger, bitterness, jealousy, strife, fear-if they are within us, they will surface during fasting." P. 153 3. Answers to prayer 4. Justice for the poor "Fasting reveals our need for food, and that revelation can make us more aware of the needs of others that in turn can prompt us into lives of generosity and involvement and fighting for justice for the poor and needy in our world." P. 155 5. Intimacy with God. Moses in Ex. 34: "Fasting expresses the yearning of an entire presence [Moses] to know the presence of God, and that yearning creates space for God just as the presence of God creates a yearning so intense for God's presence that fasting results. " IX. The challenge 1. Isaiah 58 2. Church mission to reach beyond ourselves, particularly in storefront. 3. Dead end a) We lack the intimacy that unites us to the knowledge of God's will for us. And so we respond with body plea.
4. The challenge is to listen for the voice of God.
a) What is he calling us to do as a community? b) We know he has called us to reach out beyond ourselves. We thought that it would happen in the storefront, and some of us remain convicted that this is indeed of God's design.
c) But we are at a standstill.
d) Should we look for alternative locations right away?
e) Should we wait till January or whenever this opportunity opens up?
f) How can we be preparing ourselves as a body? In our godly enthusiasm to reach out have we inadvertently neglected the inner individual and communal spiritual formation that will make our outreach effective?
g) These are the things we are asking you to pray to God about through your fast.
6. Five days of prayer, Monday-Friday 6-7 here. a) We will meet together here, just to pray and open ourselves to the voice of God.
b) And our praying will be holistic, in that it will include body prayer, or fasting.Do not get lost in only abstaining from something. Fasting in itself is, like I said before, "full-bodied prayer." That means our emphasis is prayer here, not the stoppage of food consumption. If we simply don't eat while not seeing our abstinence AS prayer, than we will have missed the point. The point of fasting is to take our prayer to a deeper level that involves the totality of who we are as human creatures: mind AND body.
c) We will be earnestly seeking God and opening ourselves to his will for our Toledo First Community and our outreach to the larger city of Toledo. Andrew murray: "Fasting helps us to express, to deepen, and to confirm the resolution that we are ready to sacrifice anything, even ourselves, to attain the Kingdom of God." (xvii).
7. At this point it seems important to say that although, we are asking you pray about how you can join in this time of prayer and fasting, no one wants to coerce anyone. There are some here who will choose not to fast this week and maybe even not to pray. Perhaps you don't feel the urgency as some of us do. I would ask you to pray for the urgency; pray for the conviction. And if after that you still choose not to participate, that does not make you any less of a Christian! We will not think less of you! This needs to spring from your own will or not at all. "Instead of the Christian trying to manipulate God in fasting, some Christians manipulate others by demanding fasting as an inevitable sign of piety and using it to judge the lesser piety of those who don't fast. But fasting is not the special mark of piety. The singular marks of piety in the New Testament are these: loving God, loving others, and living in the Spirit." P.134 LET THAT BE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR 8. But if you do feel united with the mission of this church to reach out beyond ourselves, and you want to share in this week of listening prayer with your brothers and sisters in this community, here are four different options for a fast. You may even feel convicted to follow a fast that isn't up here: a) We have been talking mostly about food-related fasts. But there are some here who for various reasons cannot participate in a food fast. Perhaps you struggle with blood sugar levels or face other medical conditions. THAT'S OK. Your health limitations do not make you any less pious. In fact, if you have special dietary needs I would ask you not to attempt a food fast before you consult with your doctor. Instead I would encourage you to consider ABSTAINING FROM A NON-FOOD ITEM. This kind of fasting is not as common in biblical and church history, but the principle is similar in that we are changing something about our lifestyle that brings holy discomfort, thereby ushering us into prayer.
-T.V. or music
-Video or computer games
-Time with friends
-An hour less sleep
b) Moving into food fasts. There are so many kinds, I just want to highlight three for those who are less familiar with the practice, moving from less taxing to more. Partial-food fast, with variations according to your unique situation:
-No sodas or desserts
-Only fruits and vegetables
-Raw foods
-No animal products
-One or two meals per day instead of three
c) Daylight liquid fast. In the culture of the Old Testament, where days were measured by sunup and sundown, it was common to fast for the 12 hours in between. That is still how Muslims fast during Ramadan.
-No solid foods between sunrise and sundown, but during night hours food is okay.
d) Finally, total liquid fast
-Five 24-hr days of only liquids (no solid food)
e) One of these four I would ask you to consider as body prayer: 1. Non-food fast 2. Partial-food fast 3. Daylight liquid fast 4. Total liquid fast.
X. The medical aspect 1. Now I want to just give some brief attention to what to expect physically during fasting, without using a lot of medical terminology. a) If you are going for a partial-food fast, the body's reaction may be minimal. If you choose to eat, say, only raw fruits and vegetables, you will probably feel hungry the first couple days without all the extra fat you're used to hanging around in your stomach. These kinds of fasts can be good and cleansing, especially if you are abstaining from sugary desserts.
b) Daylight and total liquid fasts can have negative consequences for people with diabetes and other blood sugar challenges. Like I said before, please don't attempt this. I also urge anyone who struggles or who things they are PRONE to struggling with any eating disorder NOT to attempt a food fast. But if your health allows you to engage in a liquid fast, you can expect to feel hungry for the first couple days. It will help if you ease in and ease out of your fast (don't eat like you usually do tomorrow). It will also help if you refrain from strenuous exercise. You may feel gaseous or slightly fatigued-these are natural body reactions as the body rids itself of stored-up toxins.
In a water fast, your body takes its energy from stored-up fat resources. That happens in a liquid or juice fast too, but the process is slower because you are still getting external nutrients. I can't recommend a water fast here. But if something in your personal life at another time finds you wanting to attempt such a thing, I would urge you to consult a doctor and do some personal before going ahead. XI. The Lord's Fast Isaiah 58 The Lord is, in a sense, fasting for the coming of his kingdom. And like Isaiah, we believe God is calling us to that fast since our bridegroom has left us. But he has left us a feast from which we are not to fast, but that is designed to call us into praying and fasting for a time when it will be "done on earth as it is in heaven." And through this we enter into a time of sharing in our God's longing. Today the Lord's supper is initiating us into the Lord's fast. (The OT prophets who embodied God's feelings in response to sin or disaster or whatever.) And we are pleading with him to reveal his will to us, embodying our hope that God will act in this world to establish his will and his Kingdom. We are initiating it with the Lord's supper that is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet when no one will ever need to fast again. XII. Footwashing Another tactile, embodied way of expressing humility before God and each other. Acknowledging God's love for the other, regardless of our feelings. And by acting out God's love, that love can become real in us. C.S. Lewis: "Next to the sacrament itself, the holiest object ever presented to your sight is your neighbor, because in him (or her) the living Christ is truly present." Ministries | Church News | Kid Connect | Connections | Sermons | Podcasting | Daily Devotional | Calendar | About Us | Events | Bookstore | Contact Us | Home |
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