The Way of Jesus

Fasting part 5: reflecting on Scot McKnight's book

Scot presents and interesting second to last chapter called "Body Contact".  Here again he very graciously presents a correlation between the great fasters of scripture and church history who tend to have radical experiences of intimacy and revelation of God.  Scot is very persistent in his writing to avoid cause and effect (or instrumental views of fasting) and he is most careful here.  But it is as if his study insisted on giving a few pages to this "fact".  When you look at Moses, Daniel, Elijah, Jesus, Paul they all had deeply intimate relationships with God and they were all experienced and intense fasters.

He presents his findings of these "radicals", in his A then B then C progression, this way: "those who yearn for God the most often realize the superficiality of their intimacy with God, fast in response to that superficiality, and then (on the other side) find themselves entranced in the presence of the angels and God." pg. 113.

Body contact is the reality that fasting can in some cases bring you in profound contact with God.

What do you think...is this compelling to you?  Daunting?  Interesting?  Scary?

shalom.  David

Fasting part 4: reflecting on Scot McKnight's book

As I synthesize my reflections on Scot's book and my learning about fasting as a whole, I see the following themes.  One being that fasting is not about appeasing or impressing God, self, or others.  This sums up most of the pitfalls to fasting.  Rather, fasting is about a fully engaged relationship with God, self, and others. So to use Scot's definition again "fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment."

And taking Scot's examples of fasting as different ways the body talks, I see these areas expressing a person's and/or a community's experience of grief and longing.  So I would express it this way: that fasting is a fully engaged response to grieving and longing.

Grieving for/over death, sickness, sin, loss, crisis; and Longing for direction/guidance, repentance, healing, intimacy, freedom, and justice. 

I feel that I am at the point of practicing the use of fasting and to now think in these categories as I do.  So that in the future, fasting may truly become a natural and inevitable response to my grieving and longing.  For in my still prevailing disconnection between body and soul, fasting is neither natural nor inevitable for me.  

Shalom.  David

Fasting Part 3: Reflecting on Scot Mcknight's book

One of the historically realities I was unaware of was that it was standard in Jesus' day for Jews to fast twice a week.  Monday and Thursday were fast days for the community.  The fast would go from the evening meal to the next evening meal.  There were multiple reasons for these standing fast days but the primary one was the corporate longing and hope for the kingdom of God.  (Things are not as they are supposed to be and we are hungry for the arrival of God's justice).  What is interesting is that this practice of weekly fast days was very much a part of the life of the church.  However they moved the fast days to Wednesday and Friday to correspond with the betrayal of Jesus (Wednesday) and the crucifixion of Jesus (Friday).  Every week you identified with the suffering of Jesus and here to the longing for the fullness of God's new creation to now come in light of what Jesus accomplished through his suffering.

I didn't realize that these standing corporate fast days didn't fall out of view until the past two centuries.  Scot quotes John Wesley, who encouraged the Wednesday and Friday fasts and grieved as he saw this practice dissipate.  Wesley says,

"I fear there are now thousands of Methodists, so called, both in England and Ireland, who, following the same bad example, have entirely left off fasting;  who are so far from fasting twice a week (as all the stricter Pharisees did) that they do no fast twice in a month.  Yea, are there not some of you who do not fast one day, from the beginning of the year to the end?"  (quoted in Mcknight, p 81)

I've been reflecting on this strong historical practice of standing fast days.  This is so foreign to me and I wonder how this is related to the epidemic of non-Jesus looking Christians we produce in our churches.

How does this historic practice strike you?  What are the ramifications of the foreign nature of fasting as a corporate and individual practice for the western church?

shalom.  David

Fasting part 2: Reflecting on Scot McKight's book

In this post I will reflect on Scot's flow of fasting.  He presents it as A then B then C.  A = the grievous sacred moment, B = the response (fasting), C = results.  The theme Scot threads through his whole study on biblical and historical fasting is that fasting is a response (B) to a sacred moment (A) and sometimes from that response comes positive outcomes (C).  The biggest danger Scot addresses is that if we approach fasting instrumentally (ie...I will fast in the hopes of getting a certain outcome or result) we distort and miss the natural reality of fasting as it appropriately connects the body and the soul through a grievous sacred moment.  The question that Scot suggests should be asked when someone is fasting is "in response to what sacred moment?" rather than "for what result?"

Take for instance a situation where you are faced with a major life decision.  An instrumental view of fasting would be to fast and pray in order to make the right decision (B then C - fast for the result of the right answer).  An A - B - C flow would be this.  This major life decision is a sacred moment (A), in whole body response to this serious sacred moment you fast (B) regardless of the outcome or result, the appropriate soul/body response is to fast, however integrated and whole action tends to put you in a position where the needed outcome (C) does occur.

what do you think?  Have you ever been moved to fast because of a serious or grievous sacred moment in your life?  Do you think you have been taught a more instrumental or responsive view of fasting?

Fasting part 1: Reflecting on Scot McKnight's book

I make it a practice of reading a book during the season of lent around the subject of spiritual disciplines (or practices if you prefer).  This year I am reading Scot McKight's book "Fasting".  I thought I would share some of my thoughts and learnings on this blog.  Feel free to join the conversation by posting your comments at the end of each post.

I'll begin with Scot's thesis that "Fasting is the natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life". 

Right from the start Scot has helped broaden my understanding of fasting to something much more profound about how God has made us.  I have normally approached fasting as purely a spiritual discipline.  I used fasting as a way to train my body and soul from slavery from being controlled by its appetites.  It was a discipline of abstinence, an exercise, something unnatural so that I could then live more naturally, more free.  This I think is still true as a discipline but his thesis immediately fascinated me.  The claim that fasting is a natural response resonates with me, not because I have thought this to be true, I had no idea, but it is as though my soul responded to a deep reality that I am disconnected from.  I can only describe it as if my soul has been waiting for me to discover something that the rest of me didn't know was lost. 

I have been aware for a long time of the effects of a dualistic western society that splits body and soul on my understanding of the Christian faith. But I never had made the connection with fasting.  Scot makes this point "the urge to fast will not return among Christians until we understand the connection of body and soul."  Fascinating.

I'll do at least one post a week through lent on this book, and I'll close this first post with a couple questions.  What are your perceptions of fasting?  How does Scot's thesis strike you?  Shalom.

The link to Scot's book is to the right in my what I am currently reading list.