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“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
- Jesus, Matthew 4:4, KJV
Fasting is no more than abstaining from food and maybe drink, too. It teaches us a lot about ourselves pretty quickly, and
can prove humiliating to us, as it reveals to us how much our peace depends upon the pleasures of eating. It will show us
how we use eating to assuage the discomforts in our bodies and minds often caused by unwise and faithless living and attitudes
– attitudes of lacking self-worth, meaningless work, purposeless exercise, a lack of rest or exercise. Fasting teaches
temperance and self-control, therefore also throwing at us moderation and restraint with regard to all our fundamental drives.
Fasting is a practice of self-denial that ought to be practiced by all Christians; for those who take this bull by the horns,
theirs is a clear and present source of the love and resourcefulness of God.
How does one go about fasting? After all, there isn’t one dead-set way. The desert fathers such as St. Antony often
went long periods of time on just bread and water. Daniel and his friends would not eat the King’s meat or drink his
wine; they had vegetables and water only. So we see that fasting can take on many forms. Jesus was led into the wilderness
by the Spirit, fasting till the day of his temptation came at the strike of dawn.
Fasting confirms our utter dependence upon God by finding in him a source of sustenance beyond food. This is the bottom line
of fasting: we taste the real Bread of Life and drink the Living Water, the Messiah. Through fasting we come to terms with
the fact that God’s word to us is a life sustenance that is not food alone that gives life, but also the words that
proceed from the mouth of God. We discover this real meat we have, this meat the world does not know about – fasting
becomes a feast; a feast on Jesus and doing Jesus’ will!
For so long I thought that Jesus’ reference to outside appearances in the following Scripture, Matthew 6:16-18, meant
that fasting was a horrible and painful thing, and to reap the glory and rewards, we had to keep it a secret. What do you
think it really means?
"And when you fast, don't make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, who try to look pale and disheveled so people will admire
them for their fasting. I assure you, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash
your face. Then no one will suspect you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in secret. And your Father,
who knows all secrets, will reward you.” - Matthew 6:16-18, NLT
No, he is not telling us to mislead those around us while we fast. He is instead explaining how we will feel – we won’t
be sad! After all, aren’t we discovering that life is so much better than meat? Our belly is not our god, as others
find it to be; we are not enslaved by our appetites and insatiable passion, but are reigned to the cross of Christ. Our belly
becomes a joyful servant of us and of God:
“You say, ‘Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food.’ This is true, though someday God will
do away with both of them. But our bodies were not made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares
about our bodies.” - 1 Corinthians 6:13, NLT
The Christian poet Edna St. Vincent Millay writes:
“I drank every vine.
The last was like the first.
I came upon no wine
So wonderful as thirst.
I gnawed at every root.
I ate of every plant.
I came upon no fruit
So wonderful as want.
Feed the grape and the beam
To the vintner and the monger;
I will lie down lead
With my thirst and my hunger.”
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