Fasting Can Be Useful, But . . .

This past week marked the beginning of the annual 40-day journey we Christians make with our Lord to the cross of Calvary. It is a most serious time for all of us, because it reminds us how much we rely upon His grace and mercy. Unfortunately it was a rocky start for me this year. I found myself confined to my home, unable to lead in worship or even to join in worship with my fellow believers. For reasons best known to my Lord, He allowed me to be afflicted with strep throat. Not only did this infection bring great pain to my throat, it also affected my eyes and caused a cough in my lungs. The doctors I consulted told me they needed to know if it could be best treated with antibiotic drugs or not. They made me wait—in misery—for four days before assigning any meds. They tell me they have no way to fight viral infections like colds and had to wait to be certain the drugs would work against the strep throat.

So I suffered through (and that included Ash Weds.) at home, unable to read or write on my computer, forced to stay away from the fellowship of the saints (other than my wife). Finally the meds arrived and with their help I am now on the mend, writing again as you can tell. And as I return to writing I am reminded of something I wrote about earlier in my studies of the book of Hebrews.

In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. - Hebrews 12:4-8 ESV

This is a very difficult lesson for any of us to learn. And learn it we must for sin continues both in this world and in our hearts, even after Christ's Spirit has entered to grant us new life in Christ. So we return to the value and importance of the Lenten season. In our catechisms we are reminded that setting aside times like the 40-day Lenten season to deny ourselves can be good training in the exercise of will power, but it does not gain us any good will before God. We are ever at His mercy.

At the same time the Lord Himself will put us to the test by removing something from our lives. In my own case this past week He removed my good health for a time. And I thank Him for it, because it reminds me very strongly that I am a grave sinner and yet also a beloved son. As His son He continues to train and discipline me so that I may become an even better servant of His. And how grateful I am for this, for sin continues to attack and trouble me daily. And I have much to learn about prayer, patience, long-suffering, moderation and many other things of that sort.

If you are choosing this Lenten season as a time to fast and deny yourself I can only encourage you to continue, as the Apostle does when he says,

. . . for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. - 1Ti 4:8 ESV

The godliness Paul refers to is faith in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and all the teaching that derives from and is in accord with that teaching (1 Tim. 6:3-6). Not only must our physical bodies be trained, but also our spirits. Using this analogy, the Apostle further writes,

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. - 1 Cor 9:24-27 ESV

 We are ever a whole person, body, mind and heart. So use this season to train yourself in all ways. Deny some bodily pleasure if you will. And joyfully accept any discipline that the Lord Himself places upon you. Then do not fail to spend time with the Word of our Lord and in prayer, praise and thanksgiving. This is why we set aside special times of worship during the Lenten season.

All this is so that you may rejoice when you come to His Table to receive His Body and His Blood, knowing that your sins are indeed forgiven. At the end of these 40 days you will be better prepared to rejoice in the great Sign of forgiveness He has given to us.

When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This generation is an evil generation. It seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. - Luk 11:29-30 ESV

As Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and nights, so the Son of Man was in the embrace of the grave (Matt.12:40-41). But now is He risen and we know for certain we have forgiveness for all our sins. This is why we continue to celebrate His resurrection each Sunday, also during Lent. We do not include the Sundays as part of the 40 days for they are ever our reminder that Christ is risen. The Father has accepted His sacrifice and in Him we have full and complete forgiveness. Praise be to Him forever!

Fasting—A Fine Outward Training

The Lutheran Catechism says, "Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly a fine outward training . . ." There is a 'But' that follows. And that allows most of us Lutherans to not fast, not even during the Lenten season. Oh, there are some of us who attempt some form of fasting, but by and large most of us simply go on our merry way, ignoring the encouraging suggestion that such an act is "certainly a fine outward training." I invite you to think about fasting for a few minutes.

Let's start by pointing out that fasting is certainly not the same thing as dieting, a practice that is quite widespread in our day. Americans spend $40 billion a year on weight-loss programs and products. We must lose weight. Our celebs who have lost weight go around celebrating it in the media and, of course, are paid handsomely for their proclamations. As many commentators point out, dieting is meant to be a lifestyle rather than a passing fad. It is at that point that the weight-loss industry—and it is an industry—comes closest to fasting.

The above Catechism quote comes in the context of Luther's discussion of the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord's Supper. It is part of his answer to the question, "Who receives this sacrament worthily?" He goes on to say, "But that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: "Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins." Thus he rightly connects fasting to the forgiveness of sins. And this gives us a clue to the purpose and value of fasting.

Fasting relates to our spiritual life and most especially to our faith relationship to our Lord Jesus Christ who gave His body and shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins. So we ask ourselves how this outward act, this training, will assist us inwardly with our faith.

The immediate temptation is to start thinking that denying ourselves some form of bodily pleasure ("I've given up ice cream for Lent") somehow earns us a special relationship before God, even the forgiveness of certain sins such as gluttony. It does not. Inasmuch as we turn fasting into that, we deny its value. Here is what our Lord Jesus says,

"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:16-17). 

Fasting is a secret act, between you and to your heavenly Father. To everyone else nothing has changed. You still wash your face and comb your hair as you always have, but secretly you are fasting. Your Father knows it. And He will reward you.

What kind of reward are we to expect? What's the pay back? As Scripture points out, we all need training and discipline in obedience and submission to the will of our heavenly Father, for it is our very sinful nature to disobey and rebel. But by God's grace, we are the sons and daughters of God, adopted into His family by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus. And what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Such discipline does not seem pleasant at the moment ("You're grounded for two weeks and no TV!"), but we later look back and thank our parents for such training. We later grow in our respect for them and thank them for it (Hebrews 12:1-13).

As you enter the Lenten season and once again ponder the issue of fasting, prayerfully ponder how your Lord is already at work in your life disciplining and training you. What is He asking you to give up, to deny yourself? For instance, your addiction to food became a kind of drug that prevented you from serving Him. Now you discover this addiction has contributed to your heart disease and/or diabetes. You need some radical changes in your diet and exercise program in order to become a better steward of your body.

The same may be true for any sin in your life. Say for instance that for decades you knelt daily at the altar of professional success. You made this idol your god. You rose up early and stayed up late to do whatever it took to please your idol. And your god blessed your labors. You gained fame, wealth and glory. You often leaned back in your plush leather office chair to gaze out of your twentieth story window while applauding yourself for your efforts and your accomplishments. Then suddenly, quite unexpectedly you were told by your physician that you had prostate cancer. An operation revealed that it had spread into your abdomen and that you required extensive chemo and radiation therapy if possibly you were to survive. Now you are unexpectedly face to face with your own mortality and are not prepared. Up to now you have given but a weak nod to your Creator and Redeemer while you spent your life worshipping your idol. Now you realize that your true Lord has stepped forward to discipline you. And for the remainder of your life you will have to give up much. Your lifestyle must change quite radically. He is disciplining you.

I say again, fasting is a secret act between you and your Lord. How is He disciplining you? Lent is a good season to ponder that question and to listen prayerfully to Him speaking to you in His Word. Submit to His training whatever it is. Accept it with thanksgiving. God is treating you as His son or daughter, precisely because you are His child! His training does not always seem pleasant. It is often rather painful. But know with certainty that He is training you in faith, humility, patience, kindness, and many other qualities of the righteous life. So endure your fast with thanksgiving. Wash your face, comb your hair, put on a smile as best you can, and get on with the life He has given you.

Watch out that  you do not grumble and complain about the situation He has put you in. If you find yourself doing that then quickly come in prayer before your Father and confess it and rise again, knowing you are forgiven for the sake of Christ your only Savior. Go again to the Table of our Lord to be reassured of the forgiveness of your sins. And your Father who sees your fasting in secret will reward you with quiet faith and the blessed assurance of life eternal with Him.

 

The Sabbath and the Old Covenant—chp.4

_________________

The Day of Rest

________________________

Biblical Teaching About Time

—An online book about rest and worship—

By Dr. Al Franzmeier

Chapter 4

The Sabbath and the Old Covenant
_________________________

In the previous chapters we examined fifteen ways our world changed during the twentieth century.

 In Chap. 3 we studied the Biblical concept of the seven-day week and why the Sabbath, the seventh day and number seven were considered to be sacred. We now continue with a more detailed look at the Sabbath and the Old Covenant, that Covenant that has now been fulfilled in Christ Jesus.

____________________

Thinking about the Sabbath, you may have considered how great it would be if everybody could stop working on the same day to rest, relax and spend time with the family. But think about it. This could never happen in our postmodern world.

For instance, what would happen in any city if no one was in charge of utilities or if no policemen or firemen were on duty for a whole day every week? And what about hospitals? We certainly wouldn’t want doctors, nurses and all the other support people to all take off for a whole day. Think also about bus and cab drivers, airplane pilots, the telephone companies, and the Internet. There are many examples. The whole Sabbath idea is very impractical and quite impossible in our world. Before we can apply these teachings of the Bible to our postmodern world, we have to understand them better. Applications will become more evident later.

It will also not be easy to wade into an extended discussion of this topic in an age that typically wants quick, easy answers. We’re too busy to spend much time reflecting on the past and how we got where we are.  Nevertheless, I invite you to work with me. We’re still a long ways from the end. If you agree, we’ll move on. I’d now like to look at how the people of the Old Testament handled the Sabbath.

Remember the Sabbath by Keeping It Holy
Let’s start with the commandment itself, first given through Moses to the people freed from slavery in Egypt.

‘Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maid servant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy’ (Exodus 20:8-11).

I want to emphasize several points from this passage, some very similar to the points made in the previous chapter.

1. The week was to be seven days long and the seventh day was always a Sabbath, a day of rest.
2. On the seventh day they were not to labor. Work was for the other days. The seventh was a day to rest. That presented a few difficulties, of course, especially since someone had to prepare meals and care for the animals. They worked around those problems in a variety of creative ways.
3. On the Sabbath no one was to work. That included the children and the servants. Even slaves and animals must rest on that day.
4. All this was a reminder that the same LORD who brought them out of bondage and had given them their beautiful land, was the Creator of all the vast heavens, the earth and the sea.
5. By His grace the LORD rescued their forefathers and fed them in the wilderness with manna. However, He gave them no manna on the Seventh Day. It was a day of rest. On the sixth day they could collect what they needed and it did not decay. So the Sabbath was a day to meditate upon the gracious God who continued to feed them. 
6. Their Creator rested on the Seventh Day, the day without end, and so they also would find eternal rest if they but trusted Him.
7. Above all, the Seventh Day was to be viewed as a blessing from the LORD for all believers throughout the long history of God’s people Israel.

 God had miraculously taken them out of slavery in Egypt to put them on a journey to the land he promised Abraham centuries before.

The same command given from the creation of the world to Adam and Eve and the believers descended from them was now restated in the period of the Exodus. That context is very important. In the the Ten Commandments the LORD said, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” They were free at last and must never throw away their freedom. Their freedom was intimately tied to the grace and mercy of the God who had delivered them from the tyranny of Pharaoh and his evil government. A difficult journey stood before the freed people, a journey through wild country. But by God’s grace they would arrive safely in the Promised Land. On that journey they were to set aside one day every week to rest and to remember the LORD who had set them free and was giving them the Promised Land.

The Apostle Paul calls Christians to meditate upon that same journey. In his letter to the believers in Corinth he writes,

 ‘I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ’” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4). 

What is Paul is talking about? How were they “baptized in the cloud and in the sea”? What does it mean to eat the same spiritual food and drink the same spiritual drink from the spiritual rock? And how is it that Christ is that rock?

Paul is saying that Christ was behind everything that took place in the Exodus. Christ is the goal, “the end” toward which everything moved. All the sacrifices, rituals and days pointed to Him. Believers in Christ now share in all that Christ has accomplished, as did the believers in the Old Covenant era. To understand Paul’s and all the Apostles’—and the early church’s—thinking about Christ as the LORD of the Old Covenant we must learn more about what was behind the Sabbath commandment and the number seven to which it was attached.

As pointed out in the previous chapter, seven is the important number in the Old Testament. For instance, the great Day of Atonement was on the tenth day of the seventh month. In the Tabernacle and later Temple ceremonies for that day, a bull was slaughtered, symbolically taking the place of the priests who deserved death because of their personal sins. A goat was also slaughtered in place of the people of Israel. As we now understand it, these sacrifices pointed forward to the sacrificial death of the Christ.

Following those sacrifices, ceremonies in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle (later in the Temple) also involved the use of the number seven. The High Priest sprinkled some of the slaughtered bull’s blood with his finger on the Atonement Cover of the Ark of the Covenant for the sins of the priests seven times. He did the same with blood of the slaughtered goat to atone for the sins of the people.
Then the High Priest went out to make atonement for the altar since the sins of the entire nation were daily placed upon that it in the presence of the LORD. Blood from both the bull and the goat were placed on the horns of the altar seven times.

After all this, one powerful symbolical act remained. The High Priest placed both hands on the head of a second living goat and confessed over it “all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites.” Then the goat was sent into the wilderness to be released and never seen again. So the sins of the people and their guilt were symbolically transferred and taken away.

The goat was called the scapegoat, a term common in our language. When we don’t want to take the blame, we give to somebody else. We make him the scapegoat. The Hebrew name is Azazel. The Bible actually says that the second goat was the ‘goat for Azazel.’ Interpreters disagree on the meaning of the Hebrew term. You will find some who equate Azazel with Satan and still others say that the goat was given to some mysterious supernatural being called Azazel. Some Rabbis teach that Azazel belongs to the class of goat-like demons, haunting the desert. In our day you can still find people who even worship Azazel and his female counterpart Lilith. Azazel is also identified with the serpent that tempted Eve. His form is described as a dragon with hands and feet like a man's, on his back six wings on the right and six on the left. There are a variety of Bible passages used to trace the background of these references. For tons more information about Lilith see The Lilith Shrine.

In Muslim demonology, Azazel is the counterpart of the devil who refused to acknowledge the supremacy of God. His name was changed to Iblis, which means 'despair'. In Paradise Lost (I, 534), the great medieval poet Milton used Azazel as the name for the standard-bearer of the rebel angels.

During the ceremonies the High Priest did not wear his usual elaborate vestments. Instead, he wore the simple white linen garments prescribed for a priest tending the altar. By the way, the prophets Ezekiel and Daniel tell us that white linen is also the garment worn by the holy angels who minister before God in heaven,  It symbolized the highest degree of purity.

When the rituals were completed the High Priest took off his linen garments, bathed himself and put back on his regular vestments. Then he burned the fat of the slaughtered bull and goat on the altar as a sin offering for himself and the people. Finally, the slaughtered bull and goat remains were taken outside the camp or city and burned.

The Day of Atonement, unlike the Sabbath, was a day of fasting. It was the only regular fast day stipulated in the Old Covenant. It was called a Sabbath of rest, a day in which the people were to deny themselves food from the evening of the ninth day of the month until the tenth day ended the following evening.

Since Israelite culture was based on agriculture, the Sabbath was always a complete day of rest, set aside for the worship of God and for sharing among family and friends. It was a day of eating, drinking and celebrating, not fasting. They were not allowed to fast on Sabbath. Sabbath pointed to the blessings of this good earth and the land God had given them. This was a day to celebrate that fact.

We people of the New Testament reflect upon what the Sabbath pointed toward, namely eternal rest, peace and security in a world freed by Christ from sin and rebellion. Baptized into Christ we anticipate that grand Day when He will return to complete the promise given to us upon the cross. For now, he says, “Come unto me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). The writer of the letter to the Hebrews also wrote, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work” (Hebrews 4:9).

From these and similar passages we begin to see that the Old Covenant Sabbath pointed forward to a better time. Jesus understood himself to be the fulfillment and the fulfiller of the weekly Sabbaths with their promises of rest as well as the Atonement Sabbath of rest. Both Sabbaths pointed to what Christ was to bring, namely rest for guilt burdened people and peace with God through the final sacrifice that He made upon the altar of the cross. Consequently, it is no longer the weekly Sabbath or the Day of Atonement that matters. Both pointed to Jesus. He is the sacrifice and the bringer of rest through that sacrifice. What matters now is following Him every day. That’s where Christians have always gone. We will explore further what God revealed to his people of the Old Covenant about rest, particularly about rest and the land in the next chapter.

Biblical Fasting: What It Is and How to Do It

We are currently deep into the season of Lent (the word means springtime, the time when days lengthen). One of the ancient customs among Christians during this season is fasting. Lutherans, following their catechism, have taught that "fasting and bodily preparation are indeed a fine, outward training." However, very few of us--myself included--have ever done much of it. 

In searching the Internet I found a balanced and helpful website you may want to look at in that connection: Biblical Fasting: What It Is and How to Do It. Dennis Rupert, the author writes, "...I don't want you to feel overwhelmed by the thought of going without food for days and days. There are types of fasting that don't involve such a radical commitment. The Bible gives examples of many different kinds of fasting. " He goes on to tell about three types of fasts: 

1. The Normal Fast - One 24 hr. day, from sunset to sunset, based upon the Old Covenant's Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29;23:32). Other than not eating, no details are provided. Drinking water is not forbidden. 

2. The Partial Fast practiced by the famous "three men in the fiery furnace," Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, together with Daniel (Daniel 1:15). They ate only vegetables and water, a healthy diet promoted by many in our day. You may even be a vegetarian yourself and not consider this to be a fast at all. However, for those of us who are not vegetarians, this may indeed be the place to start. 

3. The Radical Fast during which you go without food for an extended period of time. The 40 days of Lent are built around our Lord's 40 day fast at the beginning of his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). This was also a re-enactment of the 40 years during which the Children of Israel were tested in the wilderness--and failed (1 Corinthians 10).

Following up on that history, the Apostle Paul wrote that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial or constructive. That's why Lutherans have not been big on fasting, I suppose. It really isn't the matter of denying yourself food. The issue is that of training yourself to trust the Lord and His Word completely and radically. Interesting is the fact that the Word of God nowhere commands New Testament Christians to fast. Two Bible passages come to mind. 

1 Timothy 4:8 - "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." The Apostle's point is that godliness and reverence do not come from something you do, including fasting. They are what God does in and through His Word. The Word is the means used by the Holy Spirit to renew the image of God within. 

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - In this passage the Apostle speaks about how he disciplines his body as athletes do in preparation for the various contests. He follows this comment with a discussion about Israel's wilderness journey in which they fell deep into temptation and lost any rights to the promised land. He ends that discussion with a Gospel promise. You can depend upon God, he says, because he will never allow a temptation greater than you can bear. He will always show a way out. 

If you fast during this Lenten season or at any other time, be aware that the whole discipline can be useful, but it is not a means of grace, a means through which the Holy Spirit works to strengthen and nourish faith and trust. That He always does through His Word and through the visible Words of the Lord's Supper and Holy Baptism.