Mardi Gras 2016

It feels strange every time I say I am excited about Lent, but I know too well the delight of drawing closer to God for a special period of time.  I have so enjoyed preparing for Lent over the past couple of weeks.  I've been reading through my favorite devotional, The Lenten Spring by Thomas Hopko, and it always starts out with the loveliest exultation.  Lent is an invitation to a spiritual adventure, he says, and it is our way of learning to rejoice differently.  We normally express our joy with lavish meals, champagne, and my personal celebration of choice, a cold martini.  Those things are wonderful, and we are encouraged by God to indulge in them to our delight.  However, there are different ways to celebrate that go beyond our first-level appetites - those put forth by the body - and instead focus on indulging our spiritual ones.

Our spiritual appetites make their presence known more subtly, but they are the forces that truly determine the state of the soul.  An underfed spirit brings about depression, stress, worry, insecurity, jealousy, exhaustion.  And in turn, these things impact the body in significant ways.  Lenten fasting is not about denying our first-level appetites to bring about some random suffering.  Lenten fasting is about setting those appetites completely to the side for six weeks to dig deeply into the nourishment of the spirit.  Fasting shouldn't make you think more about food - fasting should make you forget food entirely, only seeking the fuel that is necessary for health.

But in the same way an underfed spirit leads to a sick and unhappy body, so a nourished spirit creates a thriving body.  This was the unexpected result of my first fast - and the story of Daniel's three-year fast during the Babylonian captivity.  He was chosen to be an elite member of the King's guard, and therefore he was expected to dine on the rich, luxurious food from the King's table.  Daniel and his three buddies told the guard in charge of them that they only wanted plants and water - they were the only Israelites in the group, and they didn't want to eat this non-kosher diet.  The guard was sure they'd become frail and sick, and Daniel agreed they would eat from the King's table if their appearance, strength, or endurance suffered in the least bit.  The guard allowed them a ten-day trial period.

"At the end of the ten days it was observed that they appeared better than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations.  So the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables and water.  To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom." (Daniel 1:15-17)

This is not a story of deprivation.  It's a story of prioritizing the spirit and forgetting about the body for a little while.  We are not being punished, nor are we punishing ourselves.  It's an opportunity for surrender to God.  We say each morning, "God, what do you have for me this day?" instead of reaching for coffee or a piece of toast.  It creates pauses.  It interrupts our social eating and drinking routines. And as our spirits are nourished by this, we are simultaneously transformed in every aspect of physical health as well.

My fast was the end of headaches for me.  My skin was shining and clear.  My hair got thicker.  My vision was clearer.  My blood pressure dropped through the floor.  I kicked caffeine and sugar addictions.  I slept phenomenally well.  I dropped my college weight.  I felt actually interested in exercise for the first time.  I realized how good my body was capable of feeling - all as a byproduct of laying all things aside to pray, read, and dwell with God for 6 short weeks.  And these things have remained permanent. This is the body that houses a nourished spirit.

I pray that all Christians who are fasting this season will experience a wash of holiness, forgetting the body's many demands and focusing instead on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within them.