Fasting

 Lent was designed as spring training to ready rookie Christians for baptism. They had to prove they were disciplined for sacrificial living. Novices would fast, pray, meditate on scripture. This edge of hunger makes you more alert, more productive. I avoided heavy meals before both soccer and worship. If I didn’t, even I nodded off during my sermon.

 

Lent also served a scarcity purpose. Come spring the winter cupboard was bare, spring hadn’t yet yielded her abundance. Time to tighten belts.

 

Lenten fasting commends itself in manifold ways. Fasting means we consume less so desperate others might have more for their needs. Fasting reminds us that our bodies are not our own. These bodies do not belong to us. They belong to God, to each other. We have a responsibility to treat them kindly. Fasting reminds us that we never will get everything we want. Fasting reminds us what we really need and what we don’t.

 

Besides, if we can't control our appetites how can we hope to control anything else? The belly, wise teachers say, is the first test. If we can control our bellies, then we just might have a chance on handling the rest.

 

What do hypocritical I need to discipline, reduce, to pass this belly test? An alcohol fast? Credit card use? A television fast? A gasoline fast? Foul language fast? How about a cell phone fast? A texting fast? Fast food fast? A social media fast (excepting cute cat videos)?

 

This notion of fasting is becoming attractive. How about a cynicism fast? How about a stupidity fast? How about an insult fast? A falsehood fast? A thin-skinned fast? How about giving up resentment, grievance, negativity, defensiveness for forty days? Come Easter we just might prefer our new disposition. Life is richer by subtraction than addition.


Bob Andrews

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