December 17, 2013
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
Once again, my Christmas gift to the church is a practical guideline for a spiritual discipline that you might try over the year ahead. Last year, I offered some practical tips on centering prayer, which you can review following the link below. [1]
This year, I would like to reintroduce you to the practice of fasting, which I believe is the most misunderstood and least practiced of the spiritual disciplines. Last week, someone asked me the question directly: “Why do Christians not fast?” After I initially brushing off the question by responding that I have fasted often in my life, as well as some of you, I began to ponder the merit of his question. Really, why don’t more followers of Christ fast?
In a culture of expedience and immediate gratification, fasting reminds us that we are ultimately not self-made individuals, who shape our own destiny. Instead, fasting reorients our perspective on our primary and ultimate dependence on God, and it recalls our responsibility to assist in transforming the world.
Consider these instances of fasting in the Bible:
· Moses fasted and received from God the 10 commandments that would govern his people.
· Esther fasted and through her God saved her fellow people from certain massacre.
· Elijah fasted and received a mission God to bring deliverance to the Israelites.
· Jesus fasted and emerged from it stronger against temptation, clearer in his purpose, and prepared for the mission that would save the world.
· Saul fasted and then got his name changed to Paul, becoming the greatest missionary of the gospel the world would ever know.
Fasting is not a weight-loss scheme, or a magical talisman that gives you what you want, or a form of pious self-punishment. Instead, fasting recalibrates our souls into remembering that everything we have, everything we are, and everything we must do, is a gift and calling from God.
So, my Christmas gift to you is an invitation and encouragement to consider making fasting a part of your spiritual experience some time over the upcoming year. First, here is a list of frequently asked questions about fasting, followed by a guided exercise that will lead you in your fasting experience.
Q. Can I fast from something other than food?
A. Yes. There are people who, for health and other reasons, cannot fast from food in a safe, healthy way. I would invite those among us to consider fasting from something else that triggers your sense of control, that falsely convince you of your independence: television, the internet, your watch, your day planner, or something else.
Q. How long should a fast last? What qualifies as a fast? Skipping one meal? Two or three?
A. Author and spiritual guide Richard Foster suggests that the novice to fasting should not do too much at first. Like training for a marathon, begin with what your body can handle. Try a 24-hour fast and skip two meals. Then try the same length of time and skip three. Be sure at first to keep yourself hydrated and nourished with water and fruit juices. Talk to your doctor first if you have any concerns that need to be addressed.
Many have found it easier to fast from noon one day to noon the next, so that much of the time fasting is spent overnight, in bed. And then, over time, as you have practiced it once a week, or a few times a month, you may wish to increase the length of time each time.
The point is not the length of the fast or the number of meals that are skipped. What’s critical is that the key ingredient always be present in the fast: prayer. Prayer is what makes the physical act of abstaining from food a spiritual discipline. It is what separates fasting from other times that you must skip meals for medical reasons, health benefits, or from sheer forgetting to eat.
Fasting and prayer are critically linked. We abstain from eating with our mouths in order to sharpen our ears. We refuse to fill our stomachs so that we might be open for God to fill our spirits. And invariably, during the fast, God indeed does.
Q. What do I tell others during my fast?
A. This question is asked in many different ways. How do I explain to colleagues at work that I can’t go eat out with them? How do I prepare a meal for my family, then sit down with them and eat nothing? What do I tell them?
Jesus is careful to say in Matthew 6:16-18 that we are not to make a big public show of our fasting. So it’s appropriate then to do what you can to keep your fasting to yourself. If pushed for a line, you may say to your co-workers, “I couldn’t possibly think about eating right now, but I’ll come along and talk.” Or, if you choose to admit that you are fasting, it may become a wonderful opportunity to share your faith. Chances are your kids may not even ask you questions, but if they do, you may assure them that everything is fine and that you are just learning a different way to pray, and that you are learning to appreciate God more, them more, and even food more.
Now I’ve saved the best question for last.
Q. What might happen when you fast?
A. This is a critical question to get right. Remember, it’s not a weight-loss scheme. It’s not a self-help technique. We have to be careful that we don’t fall for the lie that any of these spiritual disciplines, when regularly practiced, produces some kind of spiritual blessing or benefit to us each time. Fasting is not a magic lamp to be rubbed, and neither is any other spiritual discipline.
Fasting is not about the blessings that God might give you. It is about emptying yourself so that God might you use you in a mighty way for the benefit of someone else, your community, or even the whole world.
Fasting will produce in you a greater sense of purpose in the world, and an alignment of God’s plans with your life. It is not about what great things will happen to you, but what can happen through you, if you will surrender your control and give your whole self over to God.
Here’s the bottom line: whether or not you have ever experienced or even thought about it before, fasting is for you.
GUIDED MEDITATIONS FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF FASTING
The second part of my gift is the following guided devotional that you can use to assist you in your fasting experience. It’s designed to guide you from noon on the first day to noon on the second day, but you can alter the times according to your own schedule. Should you choose to fast for longer than a day, you can spread the readings out farther than three hours.
My prayer for you is that as you experience this ancient biblical practice, you will learn to silence all the inner voices that compete for your control, and clearly, powerfully, and authentically hear the voice of God in your life.
12:00 pm : Beginning the Journey
A. Introduction
You are now ready to begin your fast. This may be the first time you have attempted to fast as a spiritual discipline, or you have been through this experience before. Regardless, enter this time with an openness to whatever word God would have you to hear, or whatever difference God wants to make in and through your life.
Take a few moments now in silent prayer, focusing on breathing calmly and deeply. Empty your mind of all that is distracting you at this time, and simply feel what it means for you to be alive right now. Remember that in the Old Testament, the word for spirit is the same as the words for breath and wind. With each breath, sense yourself participating in the very being of God, working in your life.
Throughout the fast, whenever you feel yourself getting hungry, anxious, or distracted, go back to this practice of being in silence with your breath. It may be in these moments that you will most sense what God is telling you.
Every three hours, you can read the next message, which will guide and encourage you along the way. These messages will include a Psalm and a gospel reading. You may certainly add other scriptures, devotional readings, hymns, prayers, etc., throughout your time. Read these passages prayerfully, as they may prompt helpful attentiveness to God’s word for you.
B. Read Psalm 63 and Matthew 8:5-13
C. Questions:
1. What expectations and anxieties do you bring with you about this fasting experience? Share those with God.
2. How might the centurion’s surrender of power and control to Jesus serve as an example for you?
Important tip: Keep yourself hydrated. Be sure to drink plenty of water. First time fasters may choose to have other drinks with nutritive value, such as milk or juices.
3:00 pm : Inviting an Awareness of God
A. Introduction
It is likely that this message finds you in the busy thickness of your workday. It is typically in moments like this that we are most distracted by our schedules, responsibilities, and pressing demands of life that we ignore our relationship with God.
Consider the example of Brother Lawrence, a 17-century French Catholic lay person who worked in the kitchen of a monastery. He wrote a book called “Practicing the Presence of God,” which stemmed in part from his regular attempts to be attentive to God’s spirit as he was performing his daily tasks.
Reflect on these quotes:
"Men invent means and methods of coming at God's love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God's presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?"
"Nor is it needful that we should have great things to do. . . We can do little things for God; I turn the cake that is frying on the pan for love of him, and that done, if there is nothing else to call me, I prostrate myself in worship before him, who has given me grace to work; afterwards I rise happier than a king. It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God."
"I began to live as if there were no one save God and me in the world."
Brother Lawrence felt that as he cooked meals, ran errands, scrubbed pots, and endured the scorn of the world, he was doing so alongside God. One of his most famous sayings refers to his kitchen:
"The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.
B. Read Psalm 73:21-28 and Matthew 11:25-30
C. Questions to Ponder:
1. What would it be like if you began to view your daily tasks as opportunities to invite an awareness of God’s presence in your life?
2. What burdens do you need to release to God, in order to exchange them for a yoke that is easier?
3. Spend some moments in stillness and silent prayer, listening to your breath and whatever words God has for you.
6:00 pm : Trusting God
A. Introduction
It is now the dinner hour, and you may have already been feeling your first pangs of hunger. This, of course, is natural. Remember that your denial of food during this fast is not a form of self-punishment. You are not punishing yourself or beating yourself into submission as an act of spiritual discipline. Instead, you are surrendering control of your life to God by allowing God to break the rhythms and patterns of your daily life that you have carefully constructed in order to give yourself a false sense of security.
When you are hungry during your fast, remind yourself that you are not in control of your life. All your blessings come from God. You are not the center of the universe, and you are not the provider of every good and perfect gift for yourself. You are utterly, unalterably dependent on God for all things in your life. That is what every hunger pang can remind you of, and it can bring you closer to full trust in God.
Also, use your hunger to focus on what God is telling you. When you have an instinct to feed yourself, channel it into a desire to feast on God’s voice, God’s love, and God’s will for you. Remember that after Moses, Esther, Elijah, Jesus, and Paul fasted, they were able to hear with even greater clarity the purpose God had for them. So it can be for you, if you listen now.
The Psalm for this message focuses on what it means to trust in God. Pay special attention to verse 7. What are your “horses and chariots” - - the human manufactured senses of power and security - - that you trust in more than God?
B. Read Psalm 20:1-9 and John 10:11-21
C. Questions to Ponder
1. Do you trust the Good Shepherd?
2. Are you able to hear the voice of the Shepherd, so that you can follow the Shepherd to wherever he is leading you?
3. What do you need to surrender right now to God, in order to hear God’s voice?
9:00 pm : Seeking God’s Guidance
A. Introduction
It is now evening, and surely by now your body has sensed a disruption in its normal daily rhythm. Do your best to savor what this disruption might mean in awakening your life to God’s novel word for your life.
Presumably, it is quiet in your household now; if not, do your best to create some silence at this time. Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down, and reflect on what prompted you to begin this fasting journey earlier today.
· Is there something troubling that is happening in your life right now for which you are seeking comfort and consolation?
· Is there some great anxiety you are feeling about your future, for which you are in need of assurance?
· Are you weighing a heavy decision, for which you are in need of clear guidance?
· Are you mourning some significant loss in your life, which has created an agonizing vacancy that you cannot seem to fill?
· Is your spiritual life dry, diminished, or at a plateau? Can you not remember the last time you felt intimately energized by God’s presence in your life?
Share with God the specific details of whatever is burdening you at this time. Take as long as you need to unpack all that you are thinking and feeling. But – and this is very important – every few minutes, pause, quiet your mind, and simply listen to the inner voice within you, prayerfully asking that all other voices but God’s voice be the one to speak to you.
What is God telling you, right now, about your situation?
B. Read Psalm 46 and Mark 4:35-41
C. Questions to Ponder
1. What comfort does it give you that Jesus can calm any chaos, subdue any wind, and silence any storm that you are facing right now?
2. Take as much time as you need to prayerfully process the complexity of your particular situation. It is quite possible that this segment of the fast, from now until the time you fall asleep, may be the most spiritually enriching, albeit most physically difficult, part of your 24-hour journey.
Tip: For first-time fasters, if your hunger wakes you up throughout the night, gently invite the spirit of God to calm your breathing, relax your mind, ease your heart, and coax you back to sleep. Give thanks to God that God is in control of your life.
6:00 am : A New Day
A. Introduction
Reflect for a moment on your sleep through the night. Perhaps you slept peacefully, as you normally might on a full stomach. Perhaps the hunger interrupted your sleep intermittently, and you were able to use those awake moments as further opportunities for prayer and surrender.
As you rise from your slumber and begin a new day, take some moments to find some quiet time before your busyness begins. Consider: what new insights does a night’s sleep bring to your ponderings from yesterday? Sometimes, God uses our slumber to wake up with some new clarity or some novel insight into our problems, and it is in the morning that we hear what God is telling us.
Is there something new that God is telling you right now?
B. Read Psalm 143:8-12 and John 5:1-18
C. Question to Ponder:
How is God calling you, right now, to “pick up your mat and walk?” What is the tangible action that God wants you to take?
9:00 am : Giving Thanks
A. Introduction
It is likely that this message finds you just as the busyness of your day is ramping up. Before you get swamped by the tasks of the day, now would be the perfect time for you to remember once again who is really in control of your life. Except this time, do it with a spirit of real gratitude.
Take some time right now to take inventory of all the things that are going well in your life. Now consider just how little you ultimately had to do in making those good things happen. Isn’t it liberating to think about all the good things in your life that you had no say in creating or providing?
It is quite possible that the most significant outcome of this fasting experience may be more than just some kind of clear guidance you receive from God, or comforting encouragement from the Holy Spirit. It could be that a reformatting of your mind into one of genuine gratitude may be the jolt to your spirit that you really needed.
Also, consider for a moment how your hunger over the past several hours matches or likely pales in comparison to those who battle physical hunger every day due to poverty or lack of food. As a tangible outcome of today’s fast, you might choose to offer yourself in some way to eradicating hunger in our community or around the world.
Consider donating money or non-perishable food items to either of our local food pantries, the Christian Action Project or Mid-Sioux Opportunities, Inc.
Consider volunteering your time to the Gospel Mission in Sioux City, helping them serve meals to the homeless in Siouxland.
Look for ways to be part of the United Methodist Church’s efforts to eradicate world hunger through the World Hunger/Poverty Program, sponsored by our United Methodist Committee on Relief: http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/hunger.stm
Become an advocate for justice through Bread for the World, an agency that urges lawmakers to address domestic and international hunger and poverty issues. www.bread.org
B. Read Psalm 30 and Luke 7:36-50
C. Question to Ponder:
1. How can you say “Thank you” to God today, with your words and your actions?
2. How can you help alleviate the physical and spiritual hunger of others?
12:00 pm : The Journey Concludes
A. Introduction
Your 24-hour fast has concluded. Despite the temptation to gorge on a large volume of food, you will definitely want to break your fast gently, with a small portion of something easily digestible at first. Then, over the course of the rest of this afternoon, you can work your way up with slightly larger portions of healthy food until you resume eating your usual portions at dinnertime.
More importantly, take some moments to record the thoughts, feelings, and significant lessons you have learned during this time. It would be best for you to write them down in a journal, or on a sheet of paper to keep in your Bible, so that you can refer to this moment later in your life. Is it possible that you might not have heard these messages from God were it not for the context of this fasting experience?
Here are some final passages of Scripture to conclude your time.
B. Read Psalm 8 and John 15:1-8
Grace and Peace,
Magrey
The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA 51012
Ph: 712-225-3955
Email: mdevega@sp-umc.org
COMPANY IS COMING FOR CHRISTMAS!
Once again, we will be having our Christmas Eve service at 5:30, and we are anticipating another large crowd of visitors and guests. Consider parking as far away from the campus as you are comfortable in walking in order to welcome newcomers. We are also in need of just four more people to complete our usher/greeter teams for the night. If you are interested in helping, please contact the church office.
END OF THE YEAR GIVING
With a few weeks remaining this year, we are grateful for your share in helping us finish the year strong in meeting all of our budgetary expenses. We are about $13,000 from making our budget, which is certainly within reach if we each play a part. For your contribution to count toward your 2013 financial giving statement, make sure it is postmarked to the church no later than December 31.
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