Why do we fast?
As Lent gets underway, some people wonder: why do we fast?
OK…so, we usually grumble about the fact that we “have to” fast. But underneath the grumbling lurks the question: “why?”
Here are some answers to that question.
Simple
On the simplest level, we fast because the Church asks us to.
There's value to obedience! Simple obedience is a great reason to start fasting, and a great reason to continue to fast, and a great support when we’re tempted to give up on fasting.
Still, while it’s a good place to start, it would be sad if our understanding and practice of fasting stopped there.
Moving Deeper
On a deeper level, we fast as a wake-up call to some of our bad habits.
FIRST: We fast to teach us control of our desires – as opposed to immediate satisfaction of our desires.
When we make a commitment to fasting, we have to assess our desires, not just satisfy them. We’re brought to the point of saying “Yes, I’m hungry right now. But today is a day of fasting, so I’m not going to eat. I’m not going to let that desire control my actions.”
That’s a habit that we could all use on a lot of levels, not just when it comes to food! How many fights could be stopped by exercising that same internal muscle – “I’m not going to let that desire control my actions”? How many marriages could be saved from infidelity by the phrase “I’m not going to let that desire control my actions”?
SECOND: We also fast to help us break habits of dependence on anything other than God.
What does that mean?
Well, let’s be honest – what’s your first thought in the morning : Is it “How can I praise, love, and serve God today?” or is it “Where’s my coffee?” Then, as the day goes along, are you more likely to stop in the chapel to pray, or to stop at the drive through and get a cup of coffee? If a neutral observer looked at how you spend your time, energy, and money on any given day, would they conclude that you worship God or the bean?
THIRD: We also fast to grow in sympathy, and effectiveness.
Think about ministering to people in need. A general rule is that you’re more effective when you know the need. The best counselor for an alcoholic on the road to recovery is an alcoholic who is sober. The best counselor for a drug addict who’s trying to get clean is a former drug addict. The best consoler for a parent who has lost a child is another parent who has lost a child. And so on.
Similarly, we’re better able to minister to the hungry when we’ve been hungry ourselves -- and Jesus told us he would judge us on that basis!
When we fast for these (and similar) reasons, we’re no longer simply obeying – we are growing up, spiritually. Simple obedience when we are children can help lead us to the deeper level; and simple obedience as adults can be a doorway to the deeper level. But there comes a time when we have to grow up, or remain spiritual adolescents. Growing up – spiritually – doesn’t mean abandoning the discipline of fasting. It means engaging in the discipline on a deeper level, and for a deeper set of reasons.
Spiritual Senses
Finally, there’s something really important that shouldn’t be left out: at its deepest level, fasting is about saying “No” to one thing in order to say “Yes” to something else.
Sound curious? Let me give a couple of examples of what that means, before explaining how it applies to fasting.
A serious athlete says "No" to some things – like foods high in sugar or fat – in order to say “Yes” to something else : maximizing the performance of his or her body. That kind of renunciation is physically fruitful – it helps to build a stronger body.
A married man says “No” to some things in order to say “Yes to something else. In married love spouses are called to give themselves completely—body, mind and soul—to one person, in a way that they don’t give themselves to anyone else. So a married man says “No” to physical and emotional intimacy with other women in order to say “Yes” to something else – a complete and exclusive union with THIS woman, his wife; the same is true of a married woman and her husband. That kind of renunciation is psychologically fruitful – it helps to build a stronger marriage.
So how does fasting say “No” to one thing in order to say “Yes” to something else?
I have discovered that fasting increases my spiritual attentiveness. When my body is hungry, my spirit more acutely reaches out to God. I more readily perceive His presence if I’m doing His will, and I more readily perceive His absence if I’m straying from that path. Or, if I have to have a hard conversation with someone, I find that fasting helps me to reach out more compassionately to them so that I know when and how to speak. In its own way, the physical renunciation of fasting is spiritually fruitful.
I can't always fast. But as I have grown up, spiritually, I've been drawn to it more and more. I’m not drawn to fasting because I want to say “No” to food – I don’t! I’m drawn to it because I want to say “Yes” to the deeper spiritual attentiveness that is its fruit.
So think of Lent as a spiritual training ground. Just as serious athletes say "No" to foods high in sugar or fat in order to maximize the performance of their bodies, so serious spiritual athletes engage in fasting to maximize the "performance" of their souls. In that sense, Lent is not an invitation to gloomy living, but the Church's invitation to a higher level of living.
Happy Lent!
