Fasting as giving

A lenten reflection

By the mystery of thy holy Incarnation; by thy holy Nativity and Circumcision; by thy Baptism, Fasting, and Temptation, Good Lord, deliver us. — The Great Litany

To many in the modern Church, fasting is an unnecessary spiritual practice. Fasting through broad dietary restriction is seen to be an outdated, medieval, and masochistic activity which belongs to the past, while Christians are actually freed from such practices by being freed from the Law of Bondage. Often, it is even seen as a practice in self-righteousness, an unnecessaary “work”, laden with misunderstood conceptions of Roman indulgences.

However, fasting was a vitally important practice in the life of Christ. His 40 days of fasting in the desert are the model for the Lenten fast. He did not restrict this fasting to himself, but encouraged its practice and entrusted its regulation to the authority of the Apostles:

Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. (Matthew 9:14-5)

Fasting became a communal activity early on, and was an important part of discerning the will of the Spirit among the Apostles (Acts 13:2).

Self-righteous fasting, though, is not new; Jesus rebuked it during his own ministry. He taught his disciples:

When ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:16-8)

Our fasting is to be secretive, we are to stay clean and look normal to the world, while our fasts, like our prayers, are the secret movements of our hearts.

However, this fasting is not just an inwardly focused devotion, it is to spiritually equip us to distribute the love of God to others. In the ancient and medieval church, restricting yourself from food groups and your usual meal sizes was so that the excess could be given to the poor. The bare-minimum self-sufficiency of early Christianity was always with the needs of the poor in mind. When we look at the church kalendar, the two lengthy fasts of Advent and Lent are clustered around the colder, less fertile Winter half of the year; when those less fortunate are in more need due to the cold climate and scarcity of certain commonplace foods.

Christ, in His above discourse, directly leads into teaching about material poverty. The Father gives true spiritual rewards, while the earthly “rewards” of contentment in food and drink are put aside. Christ continues:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

A heavenly will and a heavenly heart — a spiritually rich heart — is one which gives; which treats that property and sustenance beyond his basic means to be the property of the poor, not himself. Fasting (when possible) allows us to crucify the flesh with more conscious intensity; it teaches us to restrict our means more, realise our own failings, and become aware of what we take for granted. In the words of the Collect for the First Sunday in Lent, our ‘abstinence’ is to ultimately be used such that ‘our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness and true holiness’.

The Old Testament reading for Ash Wednesday Morning Prayer, from the Prophet Isaiah, is led by the same Spirit. Through Isaiah, God tells us what a real fast is — a crucifixion of not merely the flesh, but the heart:

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward. (Isaiah 58:6-8)

True fasting of the heart is a microcosm of the Atonement, as Lent is of Easter; fasting is essentially an intercessory sacrificial activity, where an individual suffers — lacking food, not gaining in the material world — for the sake of many others. The Epistle reading for Ash Wednesday, from the Prophecy of Joel, characterises the repentance of Lent as a liturgical ceremony, where the priests intercede

between the porch and the altar, [saying], Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? (Joel 2:17)

Our prayers of penitence and our fasting should be for the benefit of all, us being members of the universal priesthood ourselves. When we pray ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me a sinner’, the ‘me’ is not merely the self, but all of mankind.

I write to encourage myself as much as anyone reading to be more charitable this Lent, and on into the rest of our lives. Not merely to preserve ourselves in false fleshly purity, but to share the love of God, letting it flow as water from a fount, not stagnant as an underground pool within us.

Almsgiving and donations of food and money are of course pious, but there are other ways we may exercise charity. The money or food we would expend through snacking or unnecessarily indulgent meals throughout the week could go toward a Sunday feast for our friend circle, or inviting over someone we’re not too acquainted with but who we know need company and love. Treat the Sundays and feast days of the calendar not as “cheat days”, but opportunities to share and enjoy the fruits of creation with others. In this gluttonous age, learning such an attitude is more important than ever.

Love expressed as hospitality and generosity is the complimentary spiritual half of fasting, intercession and penance, as Christ showed. Our fast and our rule is not more important than generosity, hospitality, and cordiality — to share victuals offered by a generous friend, or that you have offered them, is far more important than the hit of pride you will get from refusing to eat a “forbidden” food during your fast.

And so, I will close with two passages from the Desert Fathers:

Cassian said, ‘We came from Palestine to Egypt, and visited one of the hermits. After he had welcomed us, we asked him, “When you receive guests, why don’t you fast? In Palestine they do.” He answered, “Fasting is always possible but I cannot keep you here for ever. Fasting is useful and necessary, but we can choose to fast or not to fast. God’s law demands from us perfect love. I receive Christ when I receive you, so I must do all I can to show you love. When I have said goodbye to you, I can take up my rule of fasting again. ‘The sons of the bridegroom cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them; when he is taken from them, then they can fast’.

A brother came to a hermit: and as he was taking his leave, he said, ‘Forgive me, abba, for preventing you from keeping your rule.’ The hermit answered, ‘My rule is to welcome you with hospitality, and to send you on your way in peace.’

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