|| Emmanuel Lutheran Church: Liturgical Calendar

Fasting
Fasting

Fasting is a means of spiritual discipline. It is an abstinence from meat, dairy products, and eggs; or an abstinence from food; or an abstinence from a particular food item that one might consider a sacrificial offering to forego eating. Fasting might be an abstinence from food by only eating one meal a day for a period of time. Some religious groups have periods of time in which they will fast during the daylight hours and eat after dark.

From the time of the Apostles, Friday, the day of Jesus' death, was a day of fasting. During Holy Week, Good Friday and Holy Saturday were days of fasting. In the fourth century, fasting, by eating only one meal per day and existing on water for the rest of the day, was extended to the entire period of Lent. At the time of the Reformation, many Protestants dropped fasting because of the Bible passage that says,"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." Matthew 6:16 (NIV). Those that dropped fasting at that time felt that fasting should be a very private occasion between themselves and the Lord and fasting during Lent might become a hypocritic show of piety. Others continued to fast, but did it in a very quiet way, as in their prayer closet because of the following passages in Matthew that says, "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men 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." Matthew 6:17,18 (NIV). These words of Jesus say, "when" and imply that we would fast.

The purpose of fasting is twofold. It is for personal discipline, to remember the sufferings of Christ, and also to render some service through fasting, by giving what we forego by fasting to those less fortunate than we. We are reminded of that in the Isaiah chapter on fasting, Isaiah 58, where God speaks through the prophet to say, "Is it (fasting) not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?".

The Day of Atonement (or the Fast) was the only regular fast day in the Old Testament until other fast days were added to the Jewish calendar. These were added as a result of calamity or crises. Zechariah 8:19 names the times of fasts by saying, "This is what the LORD Almighty says: "The fasts of the fourth, fifth, seventh and tenth months will become joyful and glad occasions and happy festivals for Judah. Therefore love joy and peace."

Some recorded fasts are:

Moses fasted from both food and water for forty days and forty nights when the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone.
Moses also entered a complete fast from both food and water when he returned to the camp to find the Israelites worshipping the golden calf.
The Israelites fasted to inquire of the LORD if they should continue to fight against their brothers, the Benjaminites.
The Israelites fasted out of fear of the approaching Philistines.
The men, who buried king Saul, fasted seven days, indicating their mourning for Saul's death.
The Israelites fasted until evening over Saul's death.
David fasted and wept, praying that the LORD would spare his son that Bathsheba bore to him.
Jezebel proclaimed a day of fasting to set up her scheme to have Naboth murdered so Ahab could have Naboth's vineyard.
When Elijah pronounced God's judgment, Ahab tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted.
Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, (in the face of an invading army) and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.
Ezra, leader of the second return from exile to the land of promise, proclaimed a fast to ask God for a safe journey.
Ezra also entered into a complete fast from both food and water, which was rare, while mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles by mingling the holy race with the peoples around them.
Nehemiah fasted, mourned and prayed because Jerusalem was vulnerable with her wall broken down.
Esther asked that all the Jews who were in Susa fast for her before she approached the king to ask to spare the Jewish people from the first recorded plan of annihilation.
Joel declared a holy fast as a call to repentance.
The Ninevites fasted and, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
Jesus ate nothing during the 40 days he was tempted by the devil in the desert.
In recording the miracle of the healing of the boy with a demon, some manuscripts say that Jesus explained to the disciples that some kinds of demons do not go out of a person except by prayer and fasting.
In Mark 2:18 we read that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fasted, but Jesus' disciples did not fast while Jesus was with them.
The prophetess, Anna, worshipped day and night, fasting and praying.
In the Pharisees' prayer recorded in Luke, he says, "I fast twice a week...".
When Paul and Barnabas were sent off on the first missionary journey, members of the early church fasted, prayed, and placed their hands on them.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in Whom they had put their trust.
The Fast (Day of Atonement) was noted as the ending of the safe sailing season during the time of the early church.
There were times when fasting was ineffective because the Lord looks on the heart and not upon outward behavior or appearances. The LORD ignored the Israelite's fasting before the destruction of Jerusalem in 686 B.C. God tells us through the prophet, Joel, to "Rend your heart and not your garments." He also says through the prophet, Zechariah, that we should not fast for ourselves, but for the LORD. We need to show justice and mercy as a priority over fasting. The reference to hypocritical fasting that is recorded in Matthew 6 is mentioned above.

In the February, 1998 issue of the Lutheran Witness magazine, Victor M. Parachin wrote an article on fasting that gives "12 Good Reasons To Go Hungry". They are:
1. Fasting is a way of following the example of Christ and the Apostles