Today is another day of fasting. We have been setting aside each Friday to experience a fast of one sort or another. Some of you will fast from food. Perhaps a single meal or you might choose the entire day. It is your choice. Others will fast from television, or technology (imagine no Facebook or texting for one whole day!) or you might choose to fast from speaking for a certain period of time.
The goal is not to be obedient to an arbitrary rule…the desire is to create a pattern of spiritual practice in our lives that will help us focus on God and the Lord’s dream for our life. Take a risk, try it!
While we get stressed about fasting from food, Jesus reports to his disciples that he has food that they cannot see. He reports that his food comes from the spirit of God as well as food that arrives in the form of grain from the harvest. You might remember the quote that Jesus offered when he was challenged to turn stones into bread. He said that he (and the people of God) does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from God.
We might stop to ask ourselves…are we God directed or food driven? How many times do we plan our daily activities around the food we will prepare, or the places we will eat, or the things that we need to buy so we can eat some more. Eating is not a bad thing. In fact, it is an essential part of everyday life. The question comes when we shift from essentials to obsessions.
What if we spent this day considering what it would be like to be obsessed with the love of God? Would that make a difference in the offering we prepare for the Sunday opportunity to give from our abundance?
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