Rucksack Revolution: #WednesdayWordUp: "Fasting"

Today's #WednesdayWordUp is "fasting". You know, like not eating in the name of God and all that.

There are a lot of books, websites, and such that talk about fasting as a spiritual discipline. I could give you a bunch of links to them, but quite honestly, I don't want to insult your intelligence or your spirituality by directing you to them.

That's because, in my honest opinion, most books, websites, etc. that speak about fasting are full of crap. Sorry, I really don't know how else to put it.

Fasting IS NOT about getting in "good" with God so that you can prosper, fasting IS NOT about some sort of personal spiritual insight growth, fasting IS NOT about getting yourself into better shape through weight loss or any of the other myriad reasons so many teachers, preachers, authors, and televangelists spout off about.

Sure, will fasting get you into better shape? Yes, it might. Will fasting help you to listen for the Voice of God a little better? Quite possibly it may. Is fasting a unique form of prayer? Yes.

But that IS NOT what fasting is about.

Since this is #WednesdayWordUp, let's see what the Word of God has to say about the matter:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter —
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Isaiah 58:6-9 (NIV)

Now, of course this is not the only passage in the Bible that speaks to the topic of fasting. Jesus speaks of fasting in the Gospels. The Pentateuch (Torah) speaks of fasting. Fasting is found in many others places in the Bible. But the above passage is (at least for me) a key passage on the topic.

These are two of the wonderful people who do so much for so many at Brother's Keeper Soup Kitchen, here in Ocala, Florida. Lunch meals consisting of soup, sandwiches, and bread are prepared and served here to hundreds of needy people every day, 365 days per year...

...men, women, and sadly....children.

Here's a video that shows some of what goes on during a typical day:

Now what does this soup kitchen have to do with fasting?

Scroll back up to the passage from Isaiah quoted above. Do you see what it says?

IS NOT THIS THE KIND OF FASTING I HAVE CHOSEN?

IS IT NOT TO SHARE YOUR FOOD WITH THE HUNGRY?

I am attending a large Bible study for men at a local "megachurch". Each morning, on the day of the week that we meet, doughnuts and coffee are provided with a "coffee kitty" and a suggested donation of $2.00 per person. Usually about 200 men show up at the Bible study...about as many people as sometimes show up at Brother's Keeper for lunch each day.

At the study, we talk about spiritual disciplines like prayer, Bible study, Sabbath-keeping, and FASTING.

Here is a portion of an e-mail I sent to one of the main pastors at the church, proposing that we forgo coffee and doughnuts and use the donations to provide fresh fruit and vegetables to Brother's Keeper:

A lovely Christian woman named Rita oversees the day to day operations of the Interfaith Soup Kitchen downtown. A friend of mine once spent several months attending to the needs of lepers with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India. When he tells me of her, Rita comes to my mind.

Rita has informed me of several simple needs for the ministry. One of these is the procurement of fresh fruit and vegetables to distribute to her guests. The fruits can be served as is, while the vegetables (celery, onions, carrots, cabbage) can be used in the delicious, hearty soup she makes each day (7 / 365).

I believe that if we simply used the donations for coffee / doughnuts on Wednesday morning for these things we can fully supply Interfaith Soup Kitchen through the Summer and well into the rest of the year, allowing better health for the adults and children who will be eating there in coming months.

These people are our friends, neighbors, and children of God.

The e-mail goes on to speak about passage such as Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25:

In the book we are reading [as part of the Bible study], the author speaks of worship as being like a dog licking its master's hand. The word is leikos.

Actually, his language skills in Greek are rather poor, as that is not the term used for "worship, minister, service", but is a cognate of the actual word which is leitourgos.

That being said, the author is onto something. Leikos only appears once in the entire New Testament. It is not used in connotation with a "master's hand", but rather with a "leper's" hand, the leper Lazarus who sat outside the rich man's gate in Luke 16.

I believe we are called as believers to lick the leper's sores, that is to see Christ in "the least of these", thus practicing God's Word in places such as Isaiah 58 and Matthew 25.

Is this possible? Certainly it is...we have the resources, the source of produce, and the Spirit of God who chose to be "the least of these" in the world.

Besides, we would be healthier without a bunch of doughnuts and these are our brothers and sisters we will be helping. In the words of a poem I am familiar with...

"We are all bag ladies at heart, just most of us push around more expensive shopping carts."

Be blessed, ****, you and your family...in Christ's name, amen.

I was told by the pastor a couple weeks ago that he would "take it up with management"...

NOTHING HAPPENED!

ACCORDING TO A PERSON I KNOW WHO ASKED ABOUT IT LATER,

THE "MANAGEMENT" NEVER EVEN BROUGHT IT TO A MEETING!

AND THEY MEET EVERY WEEK...

Some kind of "fasting" we are talking about in this men's study. In fact, a pastor joked about it this morning, saying it was kind of strange that we were talking about fasting, while we ate doughnuts.

This men's Bible study is only meeting for six weeks and those weeks are nearly past.

I am not trying to "bash" this church, I'm only pointing out an incredible opportunity to serve Christ...wasted. This church does a lot within its own membership, for example, coming to the aid of 5 children who lost their father two years ago and their mother last week. They really know how to serve their own and they do it very well...

BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH, THE "LEAST OF THESE"?