| NOTE FROM BROTHER STEVE |
"Have you ever considered adding fasting as a part of your spiritual life?" I 've
asked this question before, and the response I usually get is, "Why would I want
to do that?" To be fair, fasting has only been a sporadic part of m own spiritual
life, and it's been a while. Still, this season of Lent I've been thinking about it
again. I should also tell you that as a United Methodist Pastor I've made a
covenant that I would teach and encourage you to engage in fasting. I'm not
doing to good at that, but other than guilt and a sense of obligation I know that
there are some real values to be gained in our lives by practicing fasting.
Like what? Before I answer this, I've taken for granted that all of us understand
what fasting is. We probably think of it as going without food, but its true
meaning is that we replace food with a period of prayer and focus upon God.
That definition may tell us a little bit about what's to be gained by fasting.
Sometimes fasting occurs in the Bible in response to a time of crisis, such as in a
time of famine, or when someone we love is suffering This may seem to make
fasting something we do to get God's attention, but it is probably ore accurate
today that what fasting does is get our attention. For example in Mark 9, Jesus
tells his disciples that a demon tortured child could only have been helped by
prayer and fasting. I think Jesus was inviting his disciples into the same sense
of compassion and urgency that God has for the hurting. So, the thing to be
gained by fasting is not the power to sway God, but the opportunity to enter
more deeply into God's compassion.
Would you be willing to join with me in practicing the discipline of fasting? If so,
we could do as the early Methodists did. From Thursday evening through Friday
noon was the time of fasting. It was time of praying for one another and for the
lost. We could do the same. Pray for the lost, for our community, for our church,
and specifically for each other. If you choose to join in with me on this, let me
know from time to time how it has been going.
Brother Steve
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