February 19
Readings IS 58:1-9A; MT 9:14-15
Fasting is the topic of the day today.
As you may know, fasting is a very ancient spiritual practice that has been used in pretty much every major religious tradition in order to build spiritual power. It can take the form of self-denial (where we give things up that we don’t need) or refraining from doing things (that do not have a place in our lives but somehow found their way in). Whatever its form, it is meant to turn our “hunger” back towards the living God who is our ultimate sustainer.
I have always had a kind of mixed relationship to fasting. I inherited a lot of distorted ideas related to fasting from my Catholic upbringing. While the intentions were good, some of my “teachers” framed fasting in simplistic terms (like it made God happier if I gave up chocolate for 40 days). Sometimes it was framed in terms of a theology of “suffering is good for you.” It’s taken me some time and some new teachers to help me reclaim the place of fasting in my spiritual life and especially during Lent.
In today’s readings, we hear about fasting gone awry. Isaiah (speaking for God) is telling the people that their fasts are meaningless because they’re focused on all the wrong things (sound familiar?!). And then we see the Pharisees question Jesus because his followers ignore the prescribed fasting guidelines.
These are both great cautionary tales for us.
Fasting, like any other practice, can become ritualistic and lose its power to change and transform us (and thus the world). It can be done for all the wrong reasons or to feed our ego. And the bottom line is that God does not love us any more because we fast or deny ourselves somehow.
God wants changed hearts.
In Isaiah, God tells us the kind of fasting that is desired: “releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”
This is a far cry from giving up chocolate or swearing for 40 days, and I love the idea of breaking every yoke. Lent is a time to look at our lives and ask, “What are we yoked to?” When we realize that we’re yoked to some unhelpful things, these need to be broken. And we need to yoke ourselves to Jesus.
So whatever kind of fasting we’re engaged in, if it doesn’t get us closer to freedom, justice and sharing , it may not be doing much in God’s eyes or changing the world around us. And as some of our great spiritual teachers at Spiritus remind us, whatever you decide to fast from, do it with joy and with a grateful heart. I’d invite all of us to just sit with these words today and think of practices – that we need to release or refrain from – that get us closer to this kind of fasting.
13 Comments
Carol Lee
Thank you Mike for your insights…..myCatholic upbringing always made Lent a dreaded time for me , one of glaring failure. Like New Year resolutions I failed at my promised fasting. You,and Rhor, and others are helping me to see Lent as a time of renewed opportunity and now I can find joy in this season instead of guilt and failure. Thank you again. Carol
Mike Boucher Author
Carol, thanks for naming this experience of fear and failure during Lent. For so many of us, it was far too often the dominant Lenten take-away! I am so glad to hear that joy has found its way into this season for you. May it be so for all of us!
Peg England
Thanks Mike! You are so good! I am loving these reflections and lessons! I appreciate you taking the time to do this!!
Mike Boucher Author
thanks, Peg. Glad to have you on the journey
Francene C McCarthy
Thanks Mike! As always, you hit the mark perfectly! I could never understand why God would care if I gave up chocolate unless it made me a better person. However, as a young adult I started DOING things for God , a little random act of kindness each day. It really helps me to focus on giving to God. Thank you for taking away the “guilt” of not “giving up” and thank you for posting your brilliance! ❤️❤️
Mike Boucher Author
Francene, thanks for this. I think you’re right on with the acts of kindness! Small things done with great love.
Sharon Heininger
Inspiring Francene!….”Daily Acts of Random Kindness” what a great habit energy to begin in Lent and carry into our daily lives. Thanks.
Thomas P Dwyer
That really helps Mike. I want it to be a meaningful Lent for All of us. Without the commercialism of other religious holidays. I seem to focus better. Thanks for the encouragement to reflect and grow. Happy Lent!
Mike Boucher Author
That’s such a great point, Tom – what makes it meaningful? And yes, Lent is ne of the few periods without massive consumer marketing. Fasting, prayer and almsgiving are hard to commodify!
Claire Benesch
Again, thank you, Mike. I also suffer from a Catholic background and several years in a religious order where Lent was practiced very rigidly. Then I was a member of a Lutheran Church for many years where Ash Wednesday was celebrated with a spaghetti and meatball dinner between the 2 evening services. So I now struggle to find a balance. And that’s one thing I so appreciate about you. Your outlook and spirituality is balanced.
Mike Boucher Author
thanks, Claire. while i was given some baggage for sure, my sense is that the catholic “blueprint’ was solid in what it was trying to convey. and balance is such a great word. can we find a balance of the tensions so that we remain in a dynamic state somehow.
Judene Scheidt
Wow, Mike! This is awesome! I am most certainly in the same boat as you and others indoctrinated by the Roman Catholic guilt trip about Lenten obligation that was forcefully prescribed in my youth. Thank you for suggesting that we individually have permission to create our own best practices for Lent and break out of that hardwired belief that we must punish ourselves and suffer in order to gain God’s favor. I’ve chosen to do a random act of kindness each day and begin each morning with quiet meditation and reflection to listen for clues as to where and how I can be the most effective in that endeavor. Thanks again! ❤️
Mike Boucher Author
Judene, I love the idea of best practices! You name three great ones: kindness, meditation and reflection.
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