Feast/Fast
It hit me last night while laying in bed. There is only one letter that differentiates Feast from Fast. I know, I have the deepest, most profound thoughts while drifting off to sleep! It only takes one letter to change a Feast to a Fast.
Sunday we get to Feast. The Fast will be over. I suspect you have already been thinking about it. We will finally stop pushing that item or activity away and instead we will dive in! We can go back to normal. Watch for chocolate to disappear from store shelves in the area the way paper products raptured away last March!
Actually, Normal is somewhere in the middle of Feast and Fast. Normal. Neither deprivation nor gorging. Ordinary. A few years back I became much more acquainted with the concept of the Church Calendar. Our tradition is not high church. We are not liturgical, so the Church Calendar is a foreign concept. The Church Calendar plots out the year from the first Sunday of Advent to the next Advent. It walks us through rhythms of Feast (Christmas/Easter) and seasons of Fast (Advent/Lent). The Feasts have seasons of preparation that involve a Fast.
A good look at the Calendar reveals that the majority of the year is neither Feast nor Fast. It is referred to as Ordinary Time. The majority of church life is lived in Ordinary Time. The majority of our Spiritual Journey is traversed in the Ordinary. Ordinary actually makes Feast and Fast extraordinary! If every day was a Feast we would soon be bored with the excess. If ever day were a Fast we would whither away and starve. Feasts and Fasts teach us how to live out the Ordinary.
Our Fast has taught us some things about the Ordinary. Perhaps the strongest lesson is our definition of the word need. We say NEED when we mean WANT. Truthfully we need very little. In fact, all we really need is God! All else is a want.
We also learned the way our mindless reaching for food or media forms us. I have pushed away all "Social Media" except the picture app forever. I put "Social Media" in quotes because it is neither social nor media. I was talking with a friend after church who pushed away Twitter. He said something that I am finding true as well. His ability to think deeply and concentrate is increasing. The reflective activity of these apps fragments our thinking. Not a surprise. They are designed by sinister people who want to fragment society. This Fast taught us how we have been living in the Ordinary, and how to live better.
Sunday may be a Feast, but Monday, make way for the Ordinary. Take the lessons of Feast and Fast into Normal life, where the majority of life is lived.
Today's Prayer
Yesterday Kim prayed a new prayer. It was simple but audaciously specific. This morning, she learned through a text the way God answered quite literally. It was small, but audacious! Right now, pray a specific prayer to God. Audaciously specific. He is listening!
Final Thoughts
I want to encourage you again to think about greater intentionality in fasting and praying. How might you bring this spiritual practice into a space of greater regularity in your life?
A Song
Feast, Fast and Ordinary. Each rhythm is lived out best when marked by Wonder!