Lenten Fast

...the fire itself will test the quality of each one’s work. 1 Corinthians 3:13

The teachings of Jesus are found in a nutshell in the Sermon on the Mount. They are paradoxical to human nature and present a challenge to even the most spiritual people around us. The teachings in Matthew chapter six present three different righteous behaviours that we are to do in secret before the Father:

When you give to the needy... do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

When you pray... go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

When you fast... put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

There is much to unpack in these verses, but they speak of our need to avoid self-righteous and legalistic behaviour when giving, praying, and fasting. I have been in church services where giving is coerced and very public. "They have received their reward in full". Other churches post multiple pictures on social media of people in demonstrative prayer postures during services. "They have received their reward in full".

Fasting is very trendy right now for achieving health and weight loss. But spiritual fasting is a discipline in which we lament and repent as we draw closer to God. Fasting is not promoted as much as giving and ecstatic prayer in most evangelical churches. My mother used to quietly fast the lunch meal every Wednesday but never pressured the rest of the family to join her. My Roman Catholic childhood friend would announce what she was giving up for Lent each year (usually chocolate!) Like regular fasting, Lent was not part of my spiritual tradition. 

I believe there is strength in Christians coming together in a time of repentance, fasting and prayer, and I am looking forward to midweek Lenten prayer services that start tomorrow. There are many things we can give up, along with food, to free up time for spiritual growth. I have become familiar with the terms "Infobesity", "Infostress" and "Infoxication". They speak to the instant and shallow gratification we receive when scrolling continually online. The sheer volume of information available is potentially overwhelming and anxiety-inducing and decreases our ability to contemplate, meditate and think deeply. We Google every question rather than trying to problem-solve and develop our own solutions. Social media and news fasting are likely more difficult for many of us than abstaining from food. 

I contemplate my own pride, weaknesses and need for repentance in these forty days leading up to Easter, coming in secret, and with his Church, in a time of prayer, fasting and reflection. 

Here is a retelling of the seven national calls to prayer in Britain during World War 2. I first heard the Dunkirk story from my grandmother and mother. What will it take to have people join in unity and prayer for peace and deliverance again? (source)

A National Day of Prayer was called on 26 May 1940, not by the church, but by the King (of England) and (the British) Parliament.

King George VI addressed the nation to join in prayer: ‘At this fateful hour, we turn, as our fathers before us in all times of trial, to God Most High.’ He urged Britain to humbly and confidently ‘commit our cause to God and ask his aid’ and finished with the comforting words, ‘with God’s help, we shall not fail.’

The nation did respond. Churches across the land were packed full, with many gathering outside the buildings when there was no more room inside. They committed themselves to God, admitting the desperate need of his intervention. In the following week, God’s answer to their prayers could be clearly seen in the events that are now often referred to as the ‘Miracle of Dunkirk’. Nearly 900 Navy and private vessels sailed across an unusually, perhaps miraculously, calm English Channel. Easterly winds blew smoke over the beaches where soldiers waited to be evacuated, and while cloud cover prevented the Luftwaffe from bombing the Allied Forces, above the cloud, the Royal Air Force were able to engage. Instead of the hoped-for 20,000 to 30,000 rescued soldiers, 338,226 British and Allied troops were rescued from the beaches. When looked at in the context of the prayers of the nation, it is hard to see this as anything other than divine intervention from the Most High God that the King urged his subjects to appeal to.

Over the six-year span of the Second World War, there were seven national days of prayer called in total. Three of those days were held within the first year. Four years later, in spring 1944, the seventh and final National Day of Prayer was called, followed by the D-Day Landings on the beaches of Normandy. This was the largest amphibious invasion the world had ever seen in the history of warfare.

The history of that day is well known and well documented, and the victory of that day and the weeks following is still celebrated eighty years later. Though the war continued for another year after D-Day, it was the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. SASRA prepared to send Scripture Readers to Normandy as soon as possible after D-Day, and Scripture Readers worked with the invasion troops overseas, with those preparing to go over and with the injured troops and prisoners of war.

One of the reports from a Reader in 1944 says this: ‘I am very happy to report times of blessing. I have been working amongst the men back from the Normandy battlefront. Both officers and men have given me a very vivid description of what faith in God means in the thick of the battle; many made the great decision on the field. The good seed sown in the days of preparation has brought forth fruit now, but in many cases, it was sown in tears: “He that goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his sheaves with him.”’