St. Mary's Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Fasting

The Nativity Fast began last Friday. During the season of preparation for the celebration of the Lord's Nativity, the Church directs us to make a special effort to increase and deepen our efforts in fasting, prayer and the performance of good works. While most people quite understand the importance of prayer and good works, it seems to many especially hard to make sense of fasting in what is deemed 'the holiday season'.

In ancient times, fasting was considered an important and appropriate response in times of war and the threat of war, in times of sickness, in the face of natural disasters, and whenever seeking God's forgiveness and protection. Such fasting is considered an appropriate, sacrificial self-offering within the context of a living faith and a sense of personal encounter and relationship with God. In the Gospels we find that the Lord Himself fasted, and that He assumes that His followers will fast too. For example, in Mathew 6:16-18, 9:14-17, 17:20-21 we find Him teaching them that fasting can bring about God's favor, that there are occasions when it is important to fast, and that prayer joined to fasting is particularly powerful. Those who are His followers of course strive to shape their lives according to His teaching. Thus the Church at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3), and the Church at Galatia (Acts 14:21-23), took such fasting in their communities very seriously. The Apostle Paul counts his own personal fasting as one of the things proving the authenticity of his ministry (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).

Fasting has always been a central element in Christian spiritual life and it is hard to imagine a genuine Christian faith that does not attempt to follow the Lord's explicit directive (Matthew 6:16) and the Church's teaching in this regard. In the fasting seasons of the Church year we are given an opportunity, the resources and the support needed to enter into the spirit and practice of discipleship. This is a fasting of expectation or anticipation, a fasting of preparation, with all the spiritual efforts and all the spiritual blessings of fasting focused on our renewal in the coming of the Savior. May we use the fast to the best of our ability!

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