Value 6- Week 3 Fasting
Reflection: Emptying
Mother Teresa once said, “Even Almighty God cannot fill what is already full.
We must be empty if we want God to fill us with His fullness.” Our lives and
hence our hearts are filled with too much stuff. This is what Jesus was constantly
teaching. It was his point with the
“rich young man” who came to him seeking eternal life” only to be told he
needed to empty himself of his possessions and to follow him. It was the point of the “parable of the sower
and seed”. The word cannot take root in
a heart that is full of worry and the “cares of the world”; it is like a seed
trying to grow among thorns and is choked out.
It was what he wanted Martha to learn when he told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted
by many things; there is need of only one thing.” It was the main point Jesus was teaching when
he said that those who wanted to follow him must learn “self-denial”.
The
discipline of fasting is for the purpose of emptying. When we fast our
intention is to create space for God to speak, to live, and to satisfy. As Jesus told the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be
thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will
never be thirsty.” (John 4:13) Too
often we associate fasting only with food, but the discipline of fasting for
emptying ourselves invites us to fast from other things. The disciplines of solitude and silence are
fasting from people and words for the purpose of becoming quiet enough to hear
God speak in the “still small voice” of our hearts. What about pursuing the virtue of humility by
fasting from the need to be right all the time or have the “last word”. Paul advised Timothy to “abstain from
senseless quarrels and controversies”, in other words to fast from bickering
over insignificant things. To practice
Sabbath is to fast from work, not just to rest, but to be reminded that for all
our striving God is ultimately in control of the outcome. The practice of de-accumulation or giving
things away is an act of fasting things (how often are we buying things we
already have that are perfectly functional?).
As we can see there are many actions from which we fast that can help us
empty ourselves in order to make room for God.
Practice:
This week
try setting aside a day or at least an hour or two for solitude and silence
(fast from words and people). Look for
other actions or attitudes I can make an intentional effort from which to fast
in order to make room for God and practice “imitating Christ.”
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