Reflection on Matthew 6:16-18

 

Matthew 6:16-18 (NRSVue)

¹⁶ “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Reflection

Imagine that you are standing at one of those crossroads in life where you must make a choice, and the choice you make will completely reshape the rest of your life.  While you stand, looking down each road, you try to decide which road will lead to a good place and you try to decide whether or not a bumpy and rocky path is good or bad.  This is the sort of thing that you lose sleep over, and you wish that the need to choose could just go away.  But it is not a decision that you can simply ignore.  You must make a choice, and soon. 

To help you make your decision, you decide to fast.  You fast so that you are not lulled away from your decision by the comfort of food or intoxicating drink.  You fast because this is an important life decision and you cannot be distracted.  You fast because you need to listen to God, and listening to God takes great amounts of attention.

I know you have been at those crossroads of life before.  I know that you have had the sleepless nights.  But I am willing to guess that most of us have to decided to make fasting a part of the decision making. 

Tonight we are focusing on the Lenten Discipline of fasting.  It is not a common practice within our own times, but in the ancient world deciding to begin a fast during important periods in life was as commonplace as deciding to have cake at a celebration.  In our culture, if there is a birthday or graduation or special recognition of year served, we serve cake.  Have you ever thought to ask, “Why do we serve cake?”  “Why not serve granola, or banana, or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup?”  Of course, you have never asked that.  Serving cake is what we do in this culture.  It is so baked into our bones…or rather our stomachs…that we do not even question the practice.  And in the ancient world, when faced with important turning points in life, instead of serving cake you begin a fast. 

Like cake in our culture, fasting was so commonplace in the ancient world that you did not intentionally choose to do it, you just did it because that is what you do when facing an important turning point in life.  It was an automatic response that was of immense value for the people.

When facing a tough task ahead or when mentally exhausted from one you just completed, people would begin a fast.  Think of Elijah after he defeated the priests of Baal and how he fasted before he was willing to face his uncertain future (1 Kings 19).  He needed time to think and grieve, and heal, and be encouraged without distraction.

When ancient people were racked with guilt after sinning and hurting a loved one, they would begin a fast in order to seek a word of forgiveness from God and seek a new direction in life.  Think about David after his sin with Bathsheba and after the death of his child as a result.  David fell to his knees, humbling himself before the Lord with a fast of repentance (2 Samuel 12).  Maybe after the fast God would give him a new direction in life?

And then there were the Apostles who were constantly committing themselves to a fast before big decisions, opening themselves up to hear God’s direction for their lives (Acts 13).

In other words, fasting creates an opportunity to listen closely to God without distraction.  Now, understand that God the Holy Spirit is already present with you, but we often cannot hear the words whispered because of our distraction.

In our loud and busy lives in this loud and busy world, with the distractions of work and school and multiple activities and TVs and game systems and handheld devices and the endless scrolling through social media all clamoring to claim our attention and claim our souls, it seems to me that this age could use a resurgence in the practice of fasting.

Fasting from food, like the ancient people, is good for the soul and the body, but think also how good for the soul it would be to fast from social media for a good length of time.  Think how good for the soul it would be to fast from the news for a few weeks.  Think how good for the soul it would be to fast from gossip for a month.

Then, devote that same amount of time that would have been wasted ding those things to praying and listening to God.  Devote that same amount of time to helping others rather than peeking in on their lives on social media.  Devote that same amount of time to looking down the paths of your own crossroads and ask God to guide you in the right ways.  How good fasting could be!

At its best, fasting allows us the time to intentionally strive to align our lives with the ways of the Lord our God.  As the Lord says in Isaiah: 

Is not this the fast that I choose:
    to loose the bonds of injustice,
    to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
    and to break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
    and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
    and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
⁸ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you;
    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
    you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.”

(Isaiah 58:6-9)

In the end, fasting is about allowing God to connect with us, free from distraction, in a state of dependance.  Fasting reminds us that we need God, and through fasting God connects with us once again.

And I think that is why Jesus gets so frustrated at people who fast for show.  Jesus is frustrated with people who fast for attention.  These people love to hear comments such as, “You are so faithful.”  “Wow, fasting!  You are so committed to God.”  “I couldn’t possibly do that.  Good for you!”  Because, in the end fasting is not about some sort of self-praise or self-congratulations for being so faithful.  The world cares about getting praise.  Jesus cares about connecting with God and with others.  Fasting is a great way to do that, unless you make it all about yourself.

If that is your problem, Jesus suggests, “whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:16-18).

Fasting is not for show.  Fasting is not a challenge that you accept for some sort of earthly reward.  Fasting is about the Lord connecting with you, apart from all of the distractions.  It is allowing God to work some grace in your life.