Yesterday we heard John say “Look!” But today we hear a different message that comes from a divine voice. It is Jesus who now says, “Come!” It is the universal call to follow. It is an invitation, a request, an expression of the desire of Christ that we would hear the call and follow in his footsteps. It is a call to become a disciple.
As disciples, we express our faith in a wide variety of ways. Today I want to invite you to consider one particular way of articulating your faith. Through the centuries people of faith have practiced the spiritual discipline of fasting. Our Methodist founder, John Wesley, fasted each week as an act of obedience and as a way to focus his life on deeper prayer.
Would you join me in a Lenten discipline of Friday fasting? It may take a unique form for you depending on your health or other issues. You might fast for a single meal or fast from food for the full day. You might fast from talking, driving, watching television, or whatever area of life that would allow you to focus on God in a deeper way.
What if we set Fridays as a day of fasting for the next few weeks? I want to invite you to join me in a weekly ‘Friday fast’ that would begin today and move through Good Friday. You choose the method but let’s commit to this discipline together so we can remember the abundance that God has provided and have more time for personal prayer. Mark it on your calendar today. Let’s see how God will use our faithfulness!
Remember, fasting (in whatever form) is just one way of reminding ourselves that we have responded to the call of Christ to “Come!”
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