Dear Friends,
This Sunday we celebrate the First Sunday in Lent. The forty days (not including Sundays) from Ash Wednesday to Easter is a spiritual season during which we prepare ourselves for the joy of the coming Easter. The forty days of Lent are symbolic of the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan.
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Matthew 4:1-4, 10 (NIV)
“Following Church traditions, many choose prayer and fasting as a way to come to a deeper appreciation of the sacrifices Jesus made to pave the way for our salvation. Fasting is biblical, being mentioned in the following verses:
Exodus 34:28 Jeremiah 36:6-9 Matthew 4:2
Numbers 29:7 Daniel 9:3 Matthew 6:17-18
1 Samuel 7:6 Joel 1:14 Matthew 9:14-15
Psalm 35:13 Joel 2:12-15 Luke 2:37
Psalm 69:10 Jonah 3:1-5 Luke 5:33-35
Psalm 109:24 Zechariah 7:5 Luke 18:12
Isaiah 58:3-6 Zechariah 8:19 Acts 13:2-3
Jeremiah 14:12 Acts 14:23
The only time that fasting is commanded is in Numbers 29:7, where fasting is one of the offerings listed for the Day of Atonement.
In the Scriptures, fasting is closely tied with prayer and repentance. When we voluntarily give up something for Lent, the goal is to switch our focus from earthly pleasures to the joy that we will inherit because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross.
As far back as I can remember, my mother made it a habit of giving up ice cream for Lent. As a young boy that seemed pretty extreme — giving up brussel sprouts was more like it.
Over the years, I’ve heard of people giving up certain foods, their favorite television or radio program, or even taking a hiatus from playing a favorite game or sport. One friend shared how she gave up Starbucks and used the money she saved as a special offering for the homeless.
Others, as an act of repentance and renewal, choose to give up bad habits. They concentrate on not doing the “Do Nots.”
““Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong.” Exodus 23:2
“In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” Ephesians 4:26
“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices”
Colossians 3:9
“Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.” Colossians 3:19
Unfortunately, a lot of what passes for fasting is actually more of a physical or mental fitness exercise. If our goal in fasting is to lose weight or save money, we may have missed the point. The focus in fasting should be on God, not on ourselves.
In Isaiah, we learn that the Israelites earned God’s displeasure by doing the “right thing” for the “wrong reasons”.
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ (The Israelites expected a quid pro quo.)
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Isaiah 58:3-4, 5b
Continuing in Isaiah, we see that God responds to hearts that are lovong and compassionate.
“’Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.’”
Isaiah 58:6
When we fast, we humble ourselves and show God that we love him. It’s not what we say that matters, it’s what we do. “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
This year, I won’t be giving up brussel sprouts. Instead, I will be praying that God will show me what he desires from me. After all, it’s not what we give up that matters; it’s that we are willing to humble ourselves and give over control of our lives to God.
Scripture for the Week: “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Joel 2:12
Blessings,
Your Friends in Christ
Because He Loves Us Press 