Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
worship: Noon, soup
meal follows; 7 pm, soup meal at 6 pm.
Reading: Isaiah 58:5
"Is not this the fast
that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?"
Jesus fasted for
forty days, and the tempter tried to entice him to turn stones into bread. Fasting
is one of the church's traditional disciplines of Lent, along with prayer and
acts of love. Late winter is a natural time of austerity. We might not notice
it as much as our ancestors did, but all foodstuffs that they had dried, preserved,
or stored in a root cellar would be running out at this time of year. New plant
growth was not yet possible (Fiddlehead ferns! What a treat!) Spring lambs were
not yet born. It was a wise time to ritualize scarcity and intentionally make
do with less food.
There are many
ways to fast during Lent - to fast from oils or meats or foods high on the food
chain. To fast from alcohol or caffeine. To fast from bad habits or traits,
such as a fast from impatience. To fast from acquisition. And a simple fast from
food for a meal or a day, if one is able, changes one's awareness and eyes for
the world. This discipline is about seeing differently, being shaken out of
normal patterns to become aware, to become awake.
As you sent the Christ, O
God, to show your compassion for all creation, may our lives be transformed
into his image. Amen
- · fast secretly for one meal. perhaps choose to do this for one meal each week. set aside the money saved for an act of love.
