Or, to take a another angle on the subject, this might be titled “The Sin of Fake Fasting”.
Publicans and Pharisees
In next Sunday’s Gospel reading (Luke 18:10-14), which I suspect you could almost recite by heart, we hear about a man who fasted diligently but was condemned by the Lord, and another man who not only hadn’t fasted but was also a crook, but nevertheless was accepted by God. How odd.
This will be the first of our Pre-Lenten Sundays, by which the Church helps us to prepare for Great Lent – which, believe it or not, is only a little over three weeks away. Two men: the Pharisee who had “fasted twice a week * and gave tithes on all I possess”, and the Publican who had done nothing good, and could only pray, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (You recognize that as the core of the Jesus Prayer.)
- They fasted on Mondays and Thursdays.
When I was young I thought publicans were guys who ran “pubs” – which would make them quite numerous here in Wisconsin. No, τελώνης / telones were men hired to collect taxes from the public. Usually they were Jews working for the enemy, the Roman oppressors. They were traitors. Worse yet, the system allowed them to wheedle as much money out of the populace as they could, then pay their assigned quota and keep the remainder for themselves. Publicans: “rich crooked traitors”. People despised them.
Pharisees, on the other hand, were the most respected Jewish religious leaders. I don’t think we should make them into “bad guys”. One can mean well, yet be terribly misguided. They knew all the requirements of the Law and kept them scrupulously, which occupied most of their time. And then they went beyond the Law. Jesus said they even tithed on their cooking herbs. And here was what He had to say about that: “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue * and cumin and all manner of herbs, and ignore justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Luke 11:42. He had a lot more to say about them, as well, but we’ll stick to today’s issue here.
- Rue is an Egyptian shrub with medicinal qualities – just in case you were wondering.
True Fasting: Part One
Brothers and sisters, read that passage carefully. Is Our Lord condemning fasting? Not at all. In fact, in His teachings about how to fast He begins: “When you fast…” Matthew 6:16 He assumes we will fast. (More about this on Forgivenes Sunday.)
Here he is condemning what we might call “fake fasting” – fasting that is done for show, fasting that is done as an end in itself, fasting that is done the way I fear (and hope I’m wrong) too many keep the Lenten Fast: “I never ate a hamburger. I kept a good Lent.” Wrong!
I mean, really, can you imagine you’re going to arrive at the Last Judgment and Jesus will say, “So…you gave up meat for a few weeks. What a good and holy person you are! Come on in!”
The Lord tells the Pharisees that they ought to keep the Fast, but they must not forget to love God and to treat people with justice.
True Fasting: Part Two
Hear the Prophet Isaiah (55:3-12):
“Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?”
“… in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
“Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.” *
- I’d like to fly over Washington D.C. and paper the place with pamphlets containing this passage. So you want to restore the nation? Here’s how to do it.
True Fasting: Part Three
What are the real reasons to fast?
1 Every piece of meat we don’t eat, every glass of wine we forego is intended to remind us of how much we lack in the sight of God and our neighbors: To turn us to prayer and worship and the Scriptures. And to move us to give to charity, to seek out the lonely, those who are rejected and afraid… Actually our Lord Jesus said this a whole lot better than I’m trying to do: “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me”. * Matthew 25:35-36
- What was wrong with that apparently super-controversial Inaugural sermon by the lady bishop at Washington National Cathedral was this: She didn’t quote the Scriptures enough. It was easy to disagree with her. It’s harder to disagree with Jesus, especially in public, especially while officially promoting Christianity. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
Jesus doesn’t expect you and me to save the world. But we can say a good word to someone who is down *, and smile and say hello to someone who is lonely, and welcome visitors at church, and keep our mouths shut when it’s so tempting to add to the gossip – and just do a little, no matter how small, to serve the Lord and help Him make this wicked world a better place.
- I had a very unexpected conversation last Wednesday with someone I didn’t know. I asked, ”How are you today?” I was just being friendly – he never knew I’m a priest – but then it turned out he had problems and really needed to talk. So we did.
2 To help us gain self control, develop spiritual strength. If we can give up a few things during Lent, it will strengthen our will-power, and help us resist the important temptations: alcohol (“I can always stop drinking” – so prove it), that seductive woman (or man, as may be), cheating on taxes, giving in to anger, looking at porn, neglecting the needy…
3 To help create and be part of the Holy Community. We Orthodox live this Holy Season with the millions upon millions of our Orthodox brothers and sisters all over the world who are fasting with us, and we with them.
4 To learn we can to with less. How many people in the world today have next to nothing – and we can’t cut back a little? When I first became Orthodox an Episcopalian friend looked at our fasting regimen and asked, “What do you eat?” Actually simple Orthodox Lenten cooking is often tasty. There are many recipes – look online. There are even Lenten desserts. The purpose of fasting is not to make us miserable.
5 To teach us the key to true enjoyment: “Less is more.” Have my dear wife’s fantastic cheeseburgers every night, and we’d soon take them for granted. But give them up for 52 days, and then on Pascha Monday (which is our usual schedule), they are just wonderful.
True Fasting: Part Four
Listen to Saint John Chrysostom:
“Do you fast? Give proof of it by your works. By what kind of works? If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see an enemy, be reconciled with him. If you see a friend gaining honor, do not be jealous of him. If you see a beautiful countenance, pass it by. And let not only the mouth fast, but also the eye and the ear and the feet and the hands and all members of your bodies.
“Let the hands fast by being pure from plundering and greed. Let the feet fast by ceasing from running to unlawful spectacles. Let the eyes fast, being taught never to fix themselves with strange beauties … Do you not eat meat? Feed not upon lasciviousness by means of your eyes! Let the ear fast also. The fasting of the ear consists in refusing to receive evil speakings and calumnies. Let the mouth fast also from disgraceful speeches and railings. For what does it profit if we abstain from fish and fowl and yet bite and devour the brothers and sisters? The evil speaker eats the flesh of his brothers and bites the body of his neighbor. Because of this Paul utters the fearful saying, ’If you bite and devour one another take heed that you are not consumed by one another’ “. Galatians 5:15
Back to Next Week
The chief reason why the Orthodox Church tells us not to fast this coming week * is to make the point that fasting, by itself, is not the point. To teach us that we do not win God’s favor just by fasting. If you’re not also trying to fast from sin, you’d be better off not to fast at all.
- and at a number of other times during the year
So next week fasting is not a virtue. Do what the Church tells us to do: Next Wednesday and Friday go out of your way to eat meat. *
- Or if you’re a vegetarian, omit the Fast in your own way.
Prepare for Great Lent.
Now, on this First Sunday of Pre-Lent, begin to plan your Lenten rule: What will you eat and not eat? What else might you give up? What will you take on? How will you go about praying better? and worshiping more? How will you contribute more to the needs of the people around you, and of the world?
Now, begin to get your Lenten recipes ready. Check your parish worship schedule, and begin to clear out your personal schedule so you can participate.
In the coming weeks the Orthodox Church, with her gentle ways, will gradually lead us step by step towards the Great Fast, and then it will be roots and berries and greens till Pascha! OK, so I exaggerate slightly.
But before that, a special day is coming up.
Next Week – Happy Not Saint Valentine’s Day!
Week after Next – The three losings and findings of the Head of Saint John the Baptist
Thank you Fr Bill.
Thank you!