An Acceptable Fast

Scripture

 Isaiah 58:3-12

“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
    Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day
    and oppress all your workers.
⁴ You fast only to quarrel and to fight
    and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
    will not make your voice heard on high.
⁵ Is such the fast that I choose,
    a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush
    and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

⁶ Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.” 

 If you remove the yoke from among you,
    the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
¹⁰ if you offer your food to the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
    and your gloom be like the noonday.
¹¹ The Lord will guide you continually
    and satisfy your needs in parched places
    and make your bones strong,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
    like a spring of water
    whose waters never fail.
¹² Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
    the restorer of streets to live in.  (NRSVUE)

Lenten Practice

The practice of fasting may be the Lenten devotion that the most people are familiar with. People usually associate fasting with giving up food...but it can be so much more.  The term "fast" comes from an Anglo-Saxon" word that means "firm" or "fixed." Fasting, then, is a spiritual attempt to hold firm in abstaining from something that hurts our relationships with God and others.  Such "holding firm" can mean staying entirely away from something...but it can also mean cutting back or putting limits on something.  We can also choose how long we want that fast to go on.

With the Holy Spirit's help, making the prayerful and intentional choice to fast from something can lead to some big changes in our relationships with God and others.  Last year, a good friend who was worried about the time and mental and emotional energy they were spending on Facebook and Twitter decided to fast from social media.  They didn't give it up entirely...but they did delete their social media apps from all but one device and then limit their use of those apps to an hour a day. The Spirit used that time limit to help my friend become more mindful of not only the quantity of time they spent on social media but also the quality of their posts, clicks, and relationships.  They found themselves asking whether or not getting into "comment wars" or scrolling through certain things was really the best use of their time and began changing the way they interacted with people.

By the end of Lent, my friend was more Christ-like choices about who they engaged with and what they posted.  They also found themselves focusing not on getting the most "likes," finger-pointing, or getting in well-placed digs at certain people...but on checking ion on folks, building people up, and expressing care.  In doing so, they began to repair certain breaches in relationships and restore their social media presence to something that was helpful instead of harmful.

This is the kind of fast that Isaiah lifts up as acceptable to God about: one that invites the Holy Spirit to restores, repairs, and reconcile our relationships.  And why?  Not as some kind of personally-focused self-improvement project but so that the parched places in the world can overflow with God's goodness.  

If there is something in your life that is getting in the way of your relationships with God and one another, I encourage you to consider how you might try a brief fast from it by reflecting on the questions found at the bottom of the blog.  If, after answering them, you feel Christ calling you to fast from something (be it for a day, a week, or a month), I encourage you to do give it a try.  

May the Holy Spirit help you stay firm in that commitment in ways that clear away some of the sinful clutter in your life so that there is more room to deepen your relationships with God and others.  If you falter, May the Spirit help you take a lesson from that experience without judging yourself too harshly.  And may Christ work through this age-old discipline in ways that help you become one of those known as repairers of the breach.

Questions for Discerning a Call to Fast

• What might I need to take a break from? Why?
  
• Would it be better to cut this thing out entirely or to limit/restrict it?
  
• If I would do better to limit it, what would a reasonable limit be?
  
• What would be a reasonable amount of time to keep up this fast?
• What kind of help will I need from God and others if I am to hold firm in this fast?
• Do I feel the Spirit calling me to this fast?  Why or why not?

 

 

Prayer

Lord, some are called to fast this year...and some are not.  If I am so called, may your Spirit help me hold firm to a fast that is acceptable to you, so that I too may become a repairer of the breach, a restorer of streets to live in.