Reformed Folks: Not So Fasting
Why is it that many people in the reformed tradition have no experience with fasting? This is especially ironic in light of Calvin's views on the Christian life. Ronald Wallace points out that in his writings on repentance, Calvin espouses a sort of "rule for Holy living" which includes self-denial, mortification of the flesh, and meditating upon the Holy life. (Calvin's Doctrine of the Christian Life, p. 94.)
The call for self-denial is so foreign to our culture, it's no wonder we don't often go there. And yet Calvin says that self-denial is essential if we are to put aside our self-centeredness and move to a place that is centered on God and neighbor. He says that self-denial creates the stage on which our old self may be crucified so that we can take on the new nature of Christ. And while mortification of the flesh can be taken to extremes, (Ignatius decries mortification as something to be avoided because in the zeal of his early christian walk, he damaged his body permanently by severe fasting and privation which injured his health) sensibly denying even our essential bodily needs for a short time causes us no harm and the discomfort can remind us to focus all our attention and energy on God. The purpose of fasting is to give us a bodily reminder to pay attention to the things of God--each time our hunger pangs rise up they become a call to prayer, a physical tolling of a bell within us that causes us to think of hungering for God rather than mere bread. If "giving something up for Lent" is to have any meaning for us at all, this lack or privation must call us from within to move us in a Godward direction.
We must be careful not to lapse into Gnosticism in our treatment of our bodies, however, thinking that flesh is evil and only spirit is good. If God truly hated our flesh, then Jesus would not have become incarnate to redeem our flesh and all of the stuff of creation from which it was fashioned. The fact that Jesus carried human flesh into the Godhead at his ascension once and for all declares that God loves all of us--not just our spirits but our flesh as well. And Jesus, glorified but in the flesh, reminds us that our flesh does not stand as an obstacle between us and God.
That being said, it seems we reformed types should be using our bodies through fasting to periodically remind us of the hunger that no food can satisfy. The Presbyterian Church (USA) does put out a few materials to aid in this. One great suggestion is to fast for a couple of meals prior to taking Communion, using our physical hunger to intensify our yearning for Christ present in the Eucharist.
It is my prayer during the remainder of this Lenten season, that we might experience a new hunger for Christ and that those of us who have never known true physical hunger might use fasting as a tool to remind us how full of ourselves we are and how little room we leave in our lives for God to enter in and transform us into the likeness of Christ.
The call for self-denial is so foreign to our culture, it's no wonder we don't often go there. And yet Calvin says that self-denial is essential if we are to put aside our self-centeredness and move to a place that is centered on God and neighbor. He says that self-denial creates the stage on which our old self may be crucified so that we can take on the new nature of Christ. And while mortification of the flesh can be taken to extremes, (Ignatius decries mortification as something to be avoided because in the zeal of his early christian walk, he damaged his body permanently by severe fasting and privation which injured his health) sensibly denying even our essential bodily needs for a short time causes us no harm and the discomfort can remind us to focus all our attention and energy on God. The purpose of fasting is to give us a bodily reminder to pay attention to the things of God--each time our hunger pangs rise up they become a call to prayer, a physical tolling of a bell within us that causes us to think of hungering for God rather than mere bread. If "giving something up for Lent" is to have any meaning for us at all, this lack or privation must call us from within to move us in a Godward direction.
We must be careful not to lapse into Gnosticism in our treatment of our bodies, however, thinking that flesh is evil and only spirit is good. If God truly hated our flesh, then Jesus would not have become incarnate to redeem our flesh and all of the stuff of creation from which it was fashioned. The fact that Jesus carried human flesh into the Godhead at his ascension once and for all declares that God loves all of us--not just our spirits but our flesh as well. And Jesus, glorified but in the flesh, reminds us that our flesh does not stand as an obstacle between us and God.
That being said, it seems we reformed types should be using our bodies through fasting to periodically remind us of the hunger that no food can satisfy. The Presbyterian Church (USA) does put out a few materials to aid in this. One great suggestion is to fast for a couple of meals prior to taking Communion, using our physical hunger to intensify our yearning for Christ present in the Eucharist.
It is my prayer during the remainder of this Lenten season, that we might experience a new hunger for Christ and that those of us who have never known true physical hunger might use fasting as a tool to remind us how full of ourselves we are and how little room we leave in our lives for God to enter in and transform us into the likeness of Christ.
posted by Frank at 9:29 AM
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