Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Lenten Fast
Jonah, Metropolitan of Moscow
6th Hour: Isaiah 58:1-11 1st Vespers: Genesis 43:26-31 2nd Vespers: Proverbs 21:23-22:4
Isaiah 58:1-12 RSV, especially vss. 1, 2: " My People....seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God." We stand in a long
tradition within which fasting has been an important form of piety, devotion, and spiritual growth. When our Lord took
flesh and came among us, the practice of fasting was already well-established among God's People.
Today's lesson shows us how much God had already revealed prior to the Lord's direct teaching about fasting (Mt. 6:16-18; 9:14-17; Lk. 18:9-14). The Prophesies are both Tradition and history. We may observe the harmony between the word
of the Lord in Isaiah and Jesus' teachings. Thus, today's passage is an authentic, God-given "measuring rod" for evaluating
our own fasting. Let us consider these verses as a help for finishing well the Fast we have begun. It is not too late to mend
our ways, as His words touch our hearts. The Good Thief found Paradise in one moment as he, on an adjoining cross, was
dying beside the Lord. Read a verse from Isaiah, consider its meaning, and then ask the questions below to correct,
support, and guide you.
Verse One: In self-examination which do I use: my standards or God's - as in the Beatitudes (Mt. 5:3-12), the Ten
Commandments (Ex. 20:1-17), the Lord's sermons (Mt. 5-7), or the Apostles' teachings (Rom. 12; Eph. 4-6; 1 Pet. 2-4;
James).
Verse Two: What in me is resisting God's teaching, His guidance, or His correction?
Verse Three A: What do I believe pleases God in my fasting: limiting food, added prayers, or using these means to grow in
love and obedience to Him and in His ways?
Verse Three B: How does my fasting serve my ego, my goals, my needs rather than the Lord's desires and goals? What of
God's graces do I miss in my self-serving?
Verse Three C: Do I justify being cross, curt, or mean when I fast?
Verse Four: How have I increased or decreased quarreling during the Fast?
Verse Five: What are the ways that I make my fasting visible to others rather than hiding my devotion to the Lord as He
commands (Mt. 6:16-18)?
Verse Six: What efforts have I made to remove circumstances or conditions that lead others to sin? How have I made life
more difficult for others? How have I eased the pain of others? What wrongs have I corrected to lighten the struggle of
others?
Verse Seven: What am I doing personally to relieve someone's hunger, to provide shelter to some homeless person, or to
assure that others receive needed clothing?
Verse Eight: To what extent have I asked God to enlighten me in practical ways so that I might provide aid, comfort, or
assistance to some needy person or families?
Verse Nine: In what ways have I asked God to free me, to notice my problems, or to hear me, but have neglected the
dignity, freedom, needs or cries of others?
Verse Ten: To what degree do I 'help' others - as a duty rather than giving, sharing, and helping from my heart, in
thanksgiving to God Who has so richly provided for me?
Verse Eleven: To what extent do I fast to please myself or to please my fellow Christians rather than fasting in order to
become more aware of the presence of God?
Verse Twelve: What about the Lenten Fast is a waste of time or energy for me? What about fasting do I find spiritually
empty? What about it makes the Fast one more thing to get through? How is the Fast adding or detracting from my
personal growth in faith, hope, and love? Am I drawing nearer to God and finding His peace in my heart?
O Lord, help me to sever with the sword of abstinence the snares of the soul and the flesh.
