just posted on Justin's blog about how much I love to watch tv.
As a younger man, I lived in a community where the local Christian College set the scene... During that time I struggled with herculean effort toward fastidiousness in conformity to Christian Culture...
I fasted regularly...
...talked about Jesus incessantly...
spent time in prayer every day...
...read TONS of the Bible...
and spent my time and money and effort trying my best to be a good Christian...
and it was surely no waste. I love what I learned, who I became, how i've been formed, by all those efforts and disciplines... And there's no but to it... I love that I lived there. That I was me...
and today, I'm the same guy, older, understanding deeply that I am in christ. That every moment is prayer. That the Word is much more than the Bible, that talking about Jesus goes easily with serving Him, moment to moment... that fasting seldom works, since mercy is so short in supply.
and i'm in love with MERCY. mercy is the perfection of the soul. Mercy is the highest goal of service to Christ. We must engage the mercy of God, that we have mercy in the world... then our words drip grace adn salt the world... then our tongues bring healing...
foolish words
often true
bring a cut
a switch, a blade
healing words
so rare on earth
break the wound
that sin has made
Save us O Lord, from true words spoken devoid of love...
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When you say that "fasting seldom works" I must ask what you are expecting fasting to do?
ReplyDeleteI agree that mercy is in short supply, but I don't understand how the lack of mercy relates to the disfunction of fasting. Of course, that leads me back into the question of what you expect fasting to do or to fix.
-jjs
I will answer your question with a question:
ReplyDeleteYou. What did you expect, all those times You have fasted?
Why do people of all faiths fast?
And Israel in Isaiah 58, can you relate to them? They are the example of those who fasted out of duty and devotion, without devotion to the duty of mercy toward the weak and poor.
What is the first name of your first homeless friend? Have you hugged someone and smelled bad for a day?
I could say back "I'll answer your question if you first answer mine." But I doubt you will, and as your question is quite valid (at least a few of them, I have no reason business trying to expalin why say, a Muslim fasts. And humansits/human satanists do not fast).
ReplyDelete1)You. What did you expect, all those times You have fasted?
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I expect to get more holy and earn my way into heaven.
Really, I fast for two reasons, and both of them are very self-centered. Now there is a good contridication: self-denial out of self-service.
a) I fast to practice self-denial. Like 'ol CS Lewis said, it's a good idea for soliders to practice with blanks before they see real combat. The practice of denying small pleasures is good in that it has given me the capicity to better resist larger temptations. I don't think that fasting will convice God to protect me from the temptation to sin; but it helps me better prepare for that sort of thing.
b) Denial of food from time to time helps me keep food in it's proper place. Food should be nourisment. Often, I place food in a lot of roles it does not belong in. Hence the reason I have some battles with eating too much. Fasting shows me that I can NOT eat for a day (or whatever) and still get by quite well. The Catholics do not list glutony as one of the mortal sins out of stupidity.
So I have not really I have not gone into any fast (the FEW times I have do it) with grand expectations.
2)And Israel in Isaiah 58, can you relate to them? They are the example of those who fasted out of duty and devotion, without devotion to the duty of mercy toward the weak and poor.
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But again, just becuase one fasts does NOT mean they neglect the poor or the hungry.
What about getting a subway for lunch, not eating it (fast lunch) and they giving it to a homeless person?
3) What is the first name of your first homeless friend? Have you hugged someone and smelled bad for a day?
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Met two guys in prison, when I was there with PACE; Semion (a fantastic musician that wrote amazing music without daily acess to insturments) and a guy named Mike, not sure why he was in the lockup, but he told me that after he went to prison, he found out about Jesus; and he's real glad he went to prison.
Yes I have hugged a guy that was tripped out on crack; although I didn't smell bad. I think he had maybe bathed that day, he looked homeless though. Do that count? Or do they actually have to be on the street? If so, how long do they have to be homeless? Week, or do I need to wait for three months until it's considered holy? Didn't learn his name though.
But really, don't bait me into this holiness agrument about what I have done or have not done.
You will win. You have done more good things for people than I have. I relent, I give up.
I just wonder what about fasting does not work.
Your questions failed to illuminate (for me) what you thought fasting would do. Seeing as how I asked what you thought it would, I have no idea how my thoughts on the subject would clear anything up.
thank you for answering my question to a question. As a reward I will not only answer yours, but mine.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have expected fasting to do:
-intensify the rulership of my will over my body and appetites, thereby intensifying my ability to focus in prayer...
-sharpen my spiritual appetite by increasing my daily dependence on grace.
That's what it's been about for me, most of the times I have fasted.
Now, here's the facts, though. I hardly ever fast. Hardly ever. Almost never. Because when I do, these last few years, I get haughty when I "succeed", and terribly grumpy when I "fail". So, I'm skipping school. I'm skipping target practise and getting straight to work...
now as for my bait questions,
-I don't have a homeless friend. Never did. The definition of friend doesn't fit the relationship I have with any homeless person.
-I have never smelled bad as a consequence of my affection toward any person who was disadvantaged in the world.
I fail the bait test completely. I am a total grump, and a failure in piety. I am still living high on the hog, crushing the runt.
And I'm undone by Isaiah 58. Disqualified and disgraced... and yet He calls me to go in his name. And here we go.
I'll post this as comment and next post, so you and others can participate in this conversation.
you know, there's something about the "holiness" aspect of the third comment that's kind of bugging me.
ReplyDeletei'm accused of baiting you into a holiness argument, comparison of my good deeds and yours... And you concede that I'd win...
funny, i don't think I would. but whether I would or not, this isn't about that... it's about awakening the conscience of the readers to what the Lord is saying in the scroll, here...
Dutiful trudging and confused exasperation are all around. But there's a great joy awaiting us. We can realign our lives, looking to Jesus to lead us into lives rich in good works...
In the scroll, I identify with people who fast to get God's attention, to intensify their experience of prayer and spiritual power, if you will... But these are confused, because he isn't buying. He isn't visiting like he did in the old days, even though they exercise piety and self-denial...
He tells them to return to the heart of fasting: Justice, Mercy, Love.
This conversation isn't meant to be about who practises more piety. We all lose in such conversations...
It's about returning to Justice, Mercy, Love--the roots of Christian perfection...
It's about awakening. repenting. refreshing. finishing what we started...what He started in us...