On the Other Side of Christmas

Stoning of St. Stephen, by Rembrandt

Even though it's not technically connected with Christmas, yesterday -- the first day after Christmas -- is the day many of Jesus' followers for centuries commemorated the execution of Stephen, the Christian Movement's first martyr. Perhaps it's just a coincidence that Stephen is remembered here, but it serves as a none-too-subtle reminder that the Messiah wasn't born to bring us bright baubles and candy canes; this is serious business.

Let's rehearse what happened here. The powers-brokers back then were not terribly happy with Jesus' early followers. Stephen was one of the major exponents of what we stood for and, as the story goes, when his opponents couldn't out-debate him they simply accused him of "speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God." In short order Stephen was "seized and brought... before the Council," (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6 verses 11 - 12).

In his defense Stephen delivered a long and rather blunt speech showing point by point that his people had an abysmal record of obeying God and now had capped it off by crucifying their own Messiah. His listeners did not take it well:

When those in the council meeting heard this, they became very angry. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at him. But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side. Stephen said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.” 

Everyone there started shouting loudly, covering their ears with their hands. Together they all ran at Stephen. They took him out of the city and began throwing stones at him. The men who told lies against Stephen gave their coats to a young man named Saul. As they were throwing the stones at him, Stephen was praying. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He fell on his knees and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for this sin!” 

These were his last words before he died.

(Acts of the Apostles, chapter 7 verses 54 - 60, ERV)

One may fault Stephen for tactlessness but not for lack of courage. Jesus offered his people a revolutionary way to be rescued from Rome, rescued from sin, rescued from failing repeatedly to fulfill the mission God had created them for. Even at this late date, when they had utterly failed to recognize their Messiah and turned him over to the Romans for a hideous execution, Jesus' offer still stood. Israel could still fall in behind their King. Stephen saw his duty clear and decided his best shot at shaking up the august leaders of his people was to rub their noses in the truth of what they'd done.

It got him killed, with many more to come.

On this day we are reminded that the line of martyrs with Stephen at its head has by no means come to an end, as dozens of Jesus' people are blown up in Egypt for celebrating his birth. Meanwhile in China Christians are routinely kidnapped and tortured.

In the comfortable, hermetically sealed western world we inhabit it's easy to assume the days of Christians being martyred for their faith is long past, that it may have happened back in "barbaric" Roman times, but not today. It's particularly easy when we are warm and full from the traditional holiday buying binge.

The Feast of Stephen helps us remember right after Christmas that that's not quite the case.

What is All Saints Day All About?

Death does not win

Photo by Holger Motzkau

If you've read back through the posts in Authentic Light or looked at the "Movement" section up above, you know that Christianity is an alien civilization with its own calendar. This day -- November 1st -- on that calendar is called "All Saints Day." Now, I know that the word "saint" is usually a signal to the brain to fog over, but stick with me. I'm planning to be brief.

First point: There was wide disagreement in Jesus' day about the afterlife. Many people aren't aware of that fact but it's where we need to start. For example, one group called the Sadducees (i.e., basically rich priests) didn't even believe in an afterlife at all. Other groups were all over the map: you went to heaven (Alexandrian Jews), you went to heaven and were later resurrected (some Pharisees ), you just ceased to exist but were resurrected (other Pharisees ), and so on.

Life

Jesus of Nazareth taught that there was a life after death. For the Sadducees, who only used the five books of Moses as their Bible, he demonstrated it from a passage they had apparently never considered. When he and two criminals were being tortured to death by crucifixion Jesus comforted one of them by promising on his authority as Messiah, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise," (Luke chapter 23 verse 43).

"The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, and the one who lives and believes in me will never die,” (John 11.25-26) Jesus said. Death does not win, life does. The question of the day at every human death is, "Do you believe this?"

So Jesus here and other places taught that, ideally, after your death you are a.) still alive, b.) with him, and c.) in a place called Paradise. Of course, everyone knows there are a lot more questions that this doesn't answer ("Do you mean everybody? Could Hitler-like people go to Paradise? Is Paradise the same as Heaven? What about the resurrection? etc., etc."), but we'll go into that in future posts. I wanted to get us to this point so we could talk about All Saints Day.

Triumphant

So say you are a faithful follower of Jesus of Nazareth (which is basically what that word "saint" means, although in most of the Christian movement it is often reserved for heroically faithful followers) who reaches the end of your time on earth. You step over from the human life you've been living into Paradise. Jesus is there. Also there, we can logically infer, are all the other faithful followers of Jesus from the past 2000 years. Actually longer than that to judge from that debate with the Sadducees. Your grandma, the great-uncle who vanished in the Bermuda Triangle, and ancestors from AD 1865, 1247, and 321 are all there.

All these people are part of what is called the "Church Triumphant" -- triumphant because they made it! That sad, unfair, often unfulfilling, grinding, and increasingly achy life is over for them. Now they live in a place where God, "will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more—or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist," (Revelation 21.4).

All Saints Day is to celebrate members of the Christian movement who have been martyred, to remember their accomplishment of remaining faithful to the Messiah through their lives, down to the bitter end. In the late AD 300s Ephrem the Syrian was the first to mention that Christians had a special day to commemorate all of these people. There is actually another day, "All Souls Day" on November 2nd, that celebrates all the rest of the Church Triumphant. 

In the ancient Christian poem that this whole site is structured around -- the Apostle's Creed -- these people are mentioned along with all of us. "I believe... in the communion of saints" refers to the awesome reality that Jesus' followers today "are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses," that every last member of the Christian movement from AD 33 through to this very second, in Paradise or on earth, comprise together Jesus' one church -- his Kingdom.

Why Do Christians Do Lent?

So here we are in the middle of the 40 days of self-denial members of the Christian Movement call "Lent." During this time we re-enact in a small way the 40 days Jesus fasted in the wilderness at the start of his mission. But why did Jesus fast 40 days? Why are imitating him? Here's one reason.

Only three people in the entire Bible are recorded as fasting for 40 days: Moses (Book of Exodus, chapter 34 verse 28, Good News Bible), Elijah (First Book of Kings, chapter 19 verse 8, GNB), and Jesus. These three men marked the most important epochs in the history of the people of God. Even Abraham was never called upon to fast 40 days, important as he was.

The Lineage

The traditional mountain in Palestine where
Jesus fasted 40 days

Moses instituted the "Old Covenant" between God and his nation and gave the Law to the children of Israel. This was the pattern of life God wanted them to follow and, we find out later, a pointer to virtually every aspect of Jesus' later work. Moses' fast occurred right at this crucial point in the story.

Elijah was seen as the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. The main job of Israel's prophets, incidentally, was to call the people back to the Law God had given them through Moses. His fast came at Israel's lowest point up to that time, when it appeared (to him) that he was the last believer in Yahweh the God of Israel -- and he was about to be killed too! At Sinai, when his fast was done, God renewed and recommissioned Elijah.

As Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth was the culmination of God's plan and superseded everything Moses and Elijah had done. He pointed this out as bluntly and plainly as possible: "The Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets were in effect up to the time of John the Baptist; since then the Good News about the Kingdom of God is being told, and everyone forces their way in," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 16 verse 16).

Moses and the Law

Jesus fasted the same length of time as Moses and Elijah to show he stood in their spiritual lineage, which he was destined to transcend. Not destroy it; there is a continuity in God's ways. But to "fulfill" it, to make it all come true (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5 verse 17, GNB). From here on out the Kingdom of God was present in the person of its King and all the things Moses and Elijah -- "The Law and the Prophets" -- stood for were subsumed and fulfilled in the Messiah: " And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 24 verse 27, GNB).

We see this pictured in a single image during Jesus' transfiguration: Moses, giver of the Law, and Elijah, the master prophet of Israel, stand in glory with their Messiah and speak of his upcoming supreme victory over evil on the cross in Jerusalem. One of them, Moses perhaps, calls it Jesus' "exodus," fulfilling the one Moses had led:

"Two men, Moses and Elijah, were talking with him. They were clothed with heavenly splendor and spoke about Jesus' departure (in Greek, "exodon"), which he would achieve in Jerusalem," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 9 verses 30-31).

What About Us?

But what about us? Why do we ordinary, everyday Christians fast (in a much less agonizing way) for 40 days like Moses, Elijah, and Jesus did? Lots of reasons, but one of the most important is this: Because we are not ordinary and everyday. The Messiah has inducted us into his Movement and we have sworn allegiance to him, which means we are now part of that same spiritual lineage as he (and they) are. He is our head and we are his body (Letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1 verses 22-23, GNB). We are the Kingdom here and now, just as he was.

We don't merely act on Christ's behalf, we act as Christ -- as his personal way to permeate, transform, and eventually conquer the world. We are him to this world. Over the millennia Christ's Movement has found one of the most useful ways to become more like Jesus is to live our way through the events of his life each year, as we discussed in this post from 2011.

By imitating Jesus' 40 day fast we stand in the same line as Jesus, Elijah, and Moses did. We fast 40 days because Jesus fasted 40 days and we are his body. Doing this year by year melds the body ever closer to the head. Or, to reverse the image, keeping lent each year enables the world to see the head more clearly through the body.

Frankly, if we take it seriously, the 40 days fast prods us to stand up and openly state that, "Why yes, as a matter of fact I am part of Christ's body in this world!" With Jesus there was never any doubt what he was up to. We, on the other hand, can fit in a little too well and all unawares sink into a gentle anonymity. But when we come into work with a big smudgy ash cross on your forehead, or have to fumble for an explanation at lunch as to why we're not eating meat right now or must let all our friends know we won't be on Facebook for over a month, that can prompt awkward questions.

But that's ok because, after all, we're just the latest generation of that famous spiritual lineage.

Same Old, Same Old With the Son of God

Boredom

Photo by Adam Jones adamjones.freeservers.com

"On the 5th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me... downtime."

In the version of the Christian calendar followed in the western world this is the 5th Day of Christmas -- the one where your supposed to get those famous "five golden rings." But despite that, there are no holy feasts today, no commemorations like the one I mentioned the other day marking the first martyrdom in the Christian Movement. If you happen to be a big fan of Thomas Becket this would be the day you remember him, though it has nothing to do with Christmas (although he was yet another martyr...).

But there is a lesson in this day. After all, even life with the newborn Son of God wasn't a miracle-a-minute. There were no doubt weeks and months where nothing happened outside of ordinary, droning, peasant family life. Even the fact that they were refugees in Egypt for some time wouldn't have altered the mundaneness of the life of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus much.

Days like the 5th Day of Christmas, which basically just tick off time in the commemoration of Jesus' young life, help bring home the reality of all this. They hint that, despite all the wonders that swirl around the Holy Family at crucial moments, they were much more like us with all our prosaic concerns than we may think. As the Gospel of Luke tells us a little later on, most of Jesus' early life could be described this way: "The little boy Jesus was developing into a mature young man, full of wisdom. God was blessing him," (Luke, chapter 2 verse 40, ERV).

But that's to be expected. It is in legends and fairy tales that miracles happen every minute; here we are dealing with history. It just happens to be history in which God is with us.

The Ramifications of Christmas

Stoning of St. Stephen, by Rembrandt

Even though his feast day is not technically connected with Christmas, it's interesting to me that the first day after it is the day Jesus' followers commemorate the execution of Stephen, the Christian Movement's first martyr. Today is the 'Feast of Stephen,' which usually only surfaces in our minds when we sing Good King Wenceslas.

Perhaps it's just a coincidence that Stephen is celebrated here, but it serves as a none-too-subtle reminder that the Messiah wasn't born yesterday to bring us bright baubles and candy canes; this is serious business.

Serious Business

Let's rehearse what happened here. The power-brokers back then were not terribly happy with Jesus' early followers. Stephen was one of the major exponents of what we stood for and, as the story goes, when his opponents couldn't out-debate him they simply accused him of "speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God." In short order Stephen was " seized... and brought... before the council," (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6 verses 11 - 12, ).

In his defense Stephen delivered a long and rather blunt speech showing point by point that his people had an abysmal record of obeying God and now had capped it off by crucifying their own Messiah. His listeners did not take it well:

Upon hearing this, his audience could contain themselves no longer. They boiled in fury at Stephen; they clenched their jaws and ground their teeth. But Stephen was filled with the Holy Spirit. Gazing upward into heaven, he saw something they couldn’t see: the glory of God, and Jesus standing at His right hand.

Stephen: Look, I see the heavens opening! I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God! 

At this, they covered their ears and started shouting. The whole crowd rushed at Stephen, converged on him, dragged him out of the city, and stoned him. They laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul, while they were pelting Stephen with rocks. 

Stephen (as rocks fell upon him): Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then he knelt in prayer, shouting at the top of his lungs, 

Stephen: Lord, do not hold this evil against them! 

Those were his final words; then he fell asleep in death.

(Acts of the Apostles, chapter 7 verses 54 - 60, Voice )

One may fault Stephen for tactlessness but not for lack of courage. Jesus offered his people a revolutionary way to be rescued from Rome, rescued from sin, rescued from failing repeatedly to fulfill the mission God had created them for. Even at this late date, when they had utterly failed to recognize their Messiah and turned him over to the Romans for a hideous execution, Jesus' offer still stood. Israel could still fall in behind their King. Stephen saw his duty clear and decided his best shot at shaking up the august leaders of his people was to rub their noses in the truth of what they'd done.

It got him killed, with many more to come.

First of Many

The line of martyrs with Stephen at its head has by no means come to an end. On this Feast of Stephen googling "latest attacks on christians" immediately brings up a story in USA Today reporting that, "Christmas attacks by Muslim rebels in Christian villages in the southern Philippines left at least 14 people dead." The numbers of Christians in the middle east are rapidly decreasing as they do their best to escape barbaric treatment. But don't think (as so many tend to) that it's purely a problem with radical muslim extremists. Open Doors, a group that monitors Christian persecution, reports that the country most hostile to Jesus of Nazareth's followers is North Korea.

In the comfortable, hermetically sealed western world we inhabit it's easy to assume the days of Christians being martyred for their faith is long past, that it may have happened back in "barbaric" Roman times, but not today. It's particularly easy when we are warm and full from the traditional holiday buying binge.

The Feast of Stephen helps us remember right after Christmas that that's not quite the case.

"...Less Rather Than More"

Third Sunday of Lent

"Then Jesus noticed that some of the guests were choosing the best places to sit. So he told this story: 'When someone invites you to a wedding, don't sit in the most important seat. They may have invited someone more important than you. And if you are sitting in the most important seat, they will come to you and say, 'Give this man your seat!' Then you will have to move down to the last place and be embarrassed. 

"'So when someone invites you, go sit in the seat that is not important. Then they will come to you and say, 'Friend, move up here to this better place!' What an honor this will be for you in front of all the other guests. Everyone who makes themselves important will be made humble. But everyone who makes themselves humble will be made important.'" 

(Gospel of Luke chapter 14 verse 7-11, ERV)

Lent is about humbling one's self and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I will let wise Christians speak on these subjects. Out guest blogger today is the well-known author Thomas a Kempis whose book The Imitation of Christ lags only behind the Bible itself in total sales..

__________________

MY CHILD, I will teach you now the way of peace and true liberty. Seek, child, to do the will of others rather than your own. Always choose to have less rather than more. Look always for the last place and seek to be beneath all others. Always wish and pray that the will of God be fully carried out in you. Behold, such will enter into the realm of peace and rest.

Thomas a Kempis (c.1380 – July 25, 1471)

The Imitation of Christ Book 3, Chapter 23

Do Christians Really "Fast" During Lent?

Jesus is tempted to make bread while fasting

The other day on Facebook I got a question from a friend about my article on the 40 days of Lent. It is a good question, especially if you have the religious background both of us do, wherein we once attempted to celebrate the holy days God gave ancient Israel. Long story; maybe I'll tell it one day. But in the Old Testament you'll notice, fasting could sometimes be quite rigorous. So why do members of the Christian Movement call the somewhat gentler thing we do during Lent "fasting?"

Well, at one time the Lenten fast was much more rigorous too! But I didn't get into that. Here is the question and a modified version of my response.

______________________

Q: How do you define fasting? My understanding of it is that it's literally going without any food or water for a period of 24 hours.

I remember many years ago a minister... mentioning in a sermon (on the Day of Atonement) that he never knew of anyone who tried to fast this way for 40 days that didn't end up doing permanent damage to his/her body, and thus strictly warned against attempting it in this day and age, due to the degeneration of the human body.

But your article makes it sound as if it's a relatively common thing for folks to do.

What am I missing here?


A: As you point out there would be a lot of dead and sickly worshipers each year if it was a full on fast. This Scientific American article says it's just barely possible to to go without food for 40 days or a little longer, but if you also don't drink anything you'll be dead in 2 weeks.  It seems to me that Christ, Moses -- who did it twice! -- and Elijah must have had supernatural assistance to make it that long.

We're dealing with the Christian fast of Lent of course, which is not necessarily patterned on an ancient Israelite fast. But it's not without biblical precedent, since it does resemble Daniel's 'no pleasant bread' fast in the Book of Daniel 10.3 (In the old King James Version Daniel says, "I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." ('Pleasant bread' means 'rich food.')

So for instance I'm eating no meat for the 40 days. Others abstain from other things.  In the Old Testament there are fasts that include not putting oil in your hair or even refusing to bathe (although Jesus said not to do that.)

At any rate, yes this type of a fast is fairly common.

The Scriptures mention different degrees and  types of fasts. In case you are really, really interested in what the Bible says about fasting (or just have a research paper on it), here is a comprehensive list of every fast it mentions.


(I borrowed this with much gratitude from the wondrous Bible.org site. It was originally compiled by the Bible Scholar Kent D. Berghuis.)

Scriptural References to Fasting

What follows is a comprehensive list of references to fasting in Scripture, with a brief summary of the contents of each passage (synoptic passages have been treated together). Notation is made of the extent of the fast (whether the fast is strictly individual or of a corporate nature), for the purpose of highlighting the corporate nature of biblical fasting in contrast to the frequent misconception that fasting was intended to be a strictly private, individualistic matter. Some text critical notes related to questionable NT passages are made here, but a fuller discussion may be found above in the discussion in the second chapter.

Reference	Extent	Summary
Exod 24:18, 34:28; Deut 9:9, 18, 10:10	individual	Moses twice spends forty days on Mount Sinai without eating or drinking, and in mourning over Israel’s sin.
Judg 20:26	corporate	Israel fasts until evening to inquire of YHWH after loss to Benjamin.
1 Sam 1:7-8	individual	Hannah weeps and refuses to eat when her husband’s other wife provokes her, and she prays for a son.
1 Sam 7:6	corporate	Israel fasts for a day to repent, Samuel prays, YHWH delivers them from the Philistines.
1 Sam 14:24-46	corporate	Saul places the army under oath not to eat until evening on the day of battle with the Philistines.
1 Sam 20:34	individual	Jonathan refuses to eat because of his grief over his father’s mistreatment of David.
1 Sam 28:20	individual	Saul eats nothing all day and night when he consults with the witch of En-dor.
1 Sam 31:13; 1 Chr 10:12	corporate	Men of Jabesh fast seven days after recovering the bodies of Saul and Jonathan from the Philistines.
2 Sam 1:12	corporate	David’s men fast until evening upon hearing the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan.
2 Sam 3:35	individual(?)	David refuses to eat food until evening when he heard of the death of Abner.
2 Sam 12:16-23	individual	David fasts and weeps seven days during the terminal illness of his son by Bathsheba.
1 Kgs 13:1-22	individual	An unnamed prophet is instructed by God not to eat or drink while on a mission to prophesy against Jeroboam’s idolatry.
1 Kgs 19:8	individual	Elijah goes forty days on the strength of the food provided to him by an angel.
1 Kgs 21:4	individual	Ahab eats no food because he is sullen after Naboth refused to sell his vineyard.
1 Kgs 21:9-12	corporate	Jezebel calls a false day of fasting to accuse Naboth of cursing God.

1 Kgs 21:27-29	individual	Ahab fasts and puts on sackcloth in repentance after Elijah rebuked him, and God recognized Ahab’s humility.
2 Chr 20:3	corporate	Jehoshaphat proclaims a fast throughout Judah to seek YHWH for fear of the armies of Ammon and Moab.
Ezra 8:21-23	corporate	Ezra calls a fast to seek God’s protection for those leaving Babylon for Israel.
Ezra 10:6	individual	Ezra eats and drinks nothing because of his mourning over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.
Neh 1:4	individual	Nehemiah mourns and fasts for days over the news of the state of Jerusalem, confessing national sin.
Neh 9:1	corporate	The people of Israel assemble with fasting to confess their sin after Ezra reads from the law.
Esth 4:3	corporate	The Jews weep and fast when they hear of the king’s decree for their destruction.
Esth 4:16	corporate	Esther, her maidens, and the Jews of Susa fast from food and drink for three days before she goes to the king.
Esth 9:31	corporate	Purim is established for the Jews with instructions for fasting and lamentations.
Job 3:24	individual	Job groans at the sight of food, and experiences great affliction and pain.
Job 33:19-20	individual	Elihu suggests that man (specifically, Job) is afflicted by God and unable to eat because God is chastening him.
Ps 35:13	individual	David defends his honor by saying that he fasted and prayed when his enemies were sick.
Ps 42:3	individual	The psalmist (Sons of Korah) says that tears are his food day and night.
Ps 69:10	individual	David’s fasting, weeping and prayer was an object of scorn by his enemies.
Ps 102:4	individual	The afflicted psalmist forgets to eat bread because of his great grief.

Ps 107:17-18	individual	People in distress are pictured as near death, unable to eat, but YHWH saves them.
Ps 109:24	individual	David says his knees are weak from fasting, and his flesh has grown lean during his affliction from his enemies.
Isa 58:3-6	corporate	Israel’s fasts are not heard by God because of their oppression and hypocrisy; He desires righteousness first.
Jer 14:12	corporate	Israel’s fasts are not heard by God because of their oppression and hypocrisy.
Jer 36:6-9	corporate	The people of Judah assemble in Jerusalem for a fast, and Baruch reads Jeremiah’s prophecy to them.
Ezek 24:18	individual	Ezekiel is instructed in special mourning rites, that include fasting, for the death of his wife.
Dan 6:18	individual	Darius fasts from food, entertainment, and sleep through the night while worrying for Daniel in the lion’s den.
Dan 9:3	individual	Daniel fasts, confessing Israel’s sin, upon reading Jeremiah’s prophecy of the seventy weeks.
Dan 10:2-3	individual	Daniel mourns for three weeks, abstaining from tasty food, meat, wine, and ointment.
Joel 1:14	corporate	Joel calls for a nation-wide fast because of famine that is destroying the land.
Joel 2:12-15	corporate	YHWH calls the people to return to Him with fasting, rending their hearts, not garments; Joel again calls for a fast.
Jonah 3:5	corporate	All of Nineveh fasts, repenting at the preaching of Jonah of the destruction of the city.
Zech 7:5	corporate	YHWH rebukes the priests for their ritual fasts that were done more for themselves than for Him.
Zech 8:19	corporate	YHWH will transform the ritual fasts into feasts of joy when God’s people have repented of sin and He grants them favor.

Matt 4:2; Luke 4:2	individual	Jesus fasts forty days in the wilderness, being tempted by the devil.
Matt 6:16-18	individual	Jesus teaches that fasting should be done privately for God, not for the purpose of being seen to be fasting, like the hypocrites.
Matt 9:14-15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5:33-35	corporate	Jesus tells John’s disciples that his do not fast because the bridegroom is present, but when He is taken away they will.
Matt 15:32; Mark 8:3	corporate	Jesus did not wish to send the crowd away fasting,855 since they had been with Him three days and have nothing (more?) to eat.
Matt 17:21;856 Mark 9:29857	individual?	Jesus says that this kind of demon goes out only by means of prayer and fasting.858
Luke 2:37	individual	Anna serves in the temple night and day with fastings and prayers.
Luke 18:12	individual	The Pharisee in Jesus’ parable shows his self-righteousness by boasting that he fasts twice a week and tithes.
Acts 9:9	individual	Saul fasted from food and water three days after the Damascus Road experience.

Acts 10:30859	individual	Cornelius was fasting and praying when an angel instructed him to go to Peter.
Acts 13:2-3	corporate	Prophets and teachers in Antioch were ministering to the Lord and fasting before and after the Holy Spirit set apart Saul and Barnabas.
Acts 14:23	corporate	Paul and Barnabas appoint elders in the churches, having prayed with fasting.
Acts 23:12	corporate	Certain Jews bind themselves by oath not to eat or drink until they kill Paul.
Acts 27:9	corporate	Paul’s voyage to Rome takes place after “the fast” was over, a reference to the Day of Atonement.
Acts 27:33	corporate	Paul encourages the ship’s crew to eat, since they had gone 14 days fasting.860
1 Cor 7:5861	couples	Paul tells couples not to deprive one another sexually, except for brief periods devoted to prayer and fasting.
2 Cor 6:5; 2 Cor 11:27	individual	Paul lists “fastings”862 among the hardships he suffered as a mark of his apostleship.

Summary of Biblical Purposes for Fasting

I. As a Sign of Sorrow
A. For tragic events (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 31:13/1 Chr 10:12; 2 Sam 1:12, 3:35; Esth 4:3; Jer 14:1-12; Joel 1:14, 2:12-15).
B. For personal sorrow (1 Sam 1:7-8, 20:34; Job 3:24; Pss 42:3, 102:4, 107:17-18).
II. As a Sign of Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness
A. National or corporate sins (Exod 34:28/Deut 9:9, 18, 10:10; 1 Sam 7:6; Ezra 9:1- 10:17; Neh 1:4-7, 9:1; Dan 9:3-14; Jonah 3:5-9; Zech 8:16-19).
B. Personal sins (2 Sam 12:16-23; 1 Kgs 21:27-29; Ps 69:10; Acts 9:9?).
C. As an opportunity for public exposure of sin (1 Kgs 21:9-12; Isa 58:1-5; Jer 36:6-9).
III. As an Aid in Prayer to God
A. For others (2 Sam 12:16-23; Neh 1:8-10; Ps 35:13; Dan 6:18, 9:15-19).
B. For self (1 Sam 1:7-11; Neh 1:11; Ps 109:21-24; Dan 9:3, 10:1-3).
C. For success in battle (Judg 20:26; 1 Sam 7:6; 2 Chr 20:3) and in other endeavors (Ezra 8:21-23; Esth 4:16).
D. For relief from famine (Jer 14:1-12; Joel 1:14, 2:12-15).
E. As a means of personal or group devotion (Matt 6:16-18; Luke 2:37; Acts 10:30, 13:2-3; 1 Cor 7:5).
IV. As a Part of Experiencing God’s Presence
A. Supernatural sustaining by God (Exod 34:28/Deut 9:9, 18, 10:10; 1 Kgs 19:8).
B. Reliance on God in times of temptation or spiritual warfare (Matt 4:2/Luke 4:2; Matt 17:21/Mark 9:29).
C. Reflecting the reality of the absence of Christ’s immediate presence with his followers (Matt 9:14-15/Mark 2:18-20/Luke 5:33-35).
D. Going without food to remain longer under Jesus’ teaching (Matt 15:32/Mark 8:3).
V. As an Act of Ceremonial Public Worship (Neh 9:1; Esth 9:31; Isa 58:3; Jer 36:6-9; Zech 7:3-5, 8:19; Acts 27:9).
VI. As Related to Ministry
A. Preparation for significant ministry (Matt 4:2/Luke 4:2; Acts 9:9, 13:2-3, 14:23).
B. Specific command of God while prophesying (1 Kgs 13:1-22).
C. Suffering for the sake of the gospel (2 Cor 6:5/11:27).
VII. Negative Associations or Corrections of Fasting
A. Fasting while engaging in hypocritical actions or attitudes (1 Sam 28:20; 1 Kgs 21:9-12; Isa 58; Jer 14:10-12; Jer 36:6-26; Zech 7:3-14; Matt 6:16-18; Luke 18:12).
B. Fasting as a solemn binding for a foolish or sinful oath (1 Sam 14; Acts 23:12-21).
C. Breaking a fast when God has commanded it (1 Kgs 13:8-24).
D. A sulking refusal to eat (1 Kgs 21:4).
E. Wrongly attributing the inability to eat as God’s chastening (Job 33:19-20).

The Man Who Won Ireland

Saint Patrick was never about green beer and corned beef. One of the Christian movement's boldest heroes, Patrick was by his own account a slave who escaped his harsh Irish owner only to be sent back by divine vision to evangelize his former captors.

And evangelize them he did, almost singlehandedly winning the nation's loyalty to Jesus by persuading them that the God of the Christians was much kinder than the bloodthirsty spirits they worshiped -- kind enough to die for them, rather than insisting they die for him. For more information on that exploit of Patrick's and other reasons we Irish are are so great, I heartily recommend Thomas Cahill's book How The Irish Saved Civilization.

Patrick was no myth but a real, historical man. On this St. Patrick's Day, between sips of green beer, take a listen to this reading of his autobiography.  Or read it for yourself here.

_________________________

The Breastplate of St. Patrick

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,
By power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;
His baptism in the Jordan River;
His death on the cross for my salvation;
His bursting from the spicèd tomb;
His riding up the heavenly way;
His coming at the day of doom;
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power
Of the great love of the Cherubim;
The sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;
The service of the Seraphim,
Confessors' faith, Apostles' word,
The Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,
All good deeds done unto the Lord,
And purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun's life-giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours
Against their fierce hostility,
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart's idolatry,
Against the wizard's evil craft,
Against the death-wound and the burning
The choking wave and the poisoned shaft,
Protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity;
By invocation of the same.
The Three in One, and One in Three,
Of whom all nature hath creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:
Praise to the Lord of my salvation,
salvation is of Christ the Lord.

"... the only remedy..."

Second Sunday of Lent

"Then Jesus called the crowd and his followers to him. He said, 'Any of you who want to be my follower must stop thinking about yourself and what you want. You must be willing to carry the cross that is given to you for following me.'"

(Gospel of Mark chapter 8 verse 34 ERV)

_______________________

Lent is about humbling one's self, turning from our sin, and taking on the nature of Christ. Each Sunday during this time I'm asking wise followers of Christ speak on these subjects. Last week we heard from King David. Today's guest blogger is François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon, a French Archbishop from 300 years ago who has some excellent advice on achieving our goals during this season.

A sickly self-love, full of pity for itself, cannot be touched without screaming. Touch it with the end of your finger and it thinks itself flayed alive. Then add to this sensitiveness the roughness of other people, full of imperfections unknown to themselves, their disgust at our defects (at least as great as ours toward theirs), and you find all the children of Adam tormenting one another: Half of mankind made unhappy by the other half, and rendering them miserable in their turn. 

The only remedy is to come out of one's self in order to find peace. We must renounce ourselves and lose all self-interest that we may no longer have anything to lose, to fear, or to contrive. Then we shall enjoy the true peace reserved for "men of good will," that is for those who have no longer any will but God's, which becomes theirs. Then men will not be able to harm us, they can no longer attack us through our hopes or our fears. Then we are willing to accept everything, and we refuse nothing.

(Francois Fenelon, Spiritual Letters)

Continuing On

(This is another version of something I wrote in 2011)

For Jesus' followers, citizens of a different country as we are, Christmas didn't mark the end of Advent  so much as the start of "Christmastide". We have our own calendar you know, set up to run us through the words and deeds of Jesus year after year so that, more and more, we breathe his atmosphere -- think like he thinks, react as he would react.

For most people the existence of this calendar only surfaces in our brains on Christmas and Easter, making the period we're in right now just that nice vacation time when we eat leftovers, play video games, and wait for New Years Day. The only reminder that something Noel-like may still be going on is that odd little song about there being "12 Days of Christmas."

But the Christian calendar reminds us that there is indeed something still happening, something every bit as revolutionary as the things we talked about during Advent. "The Christmas season, or Christmastide, is not about one feast day," Joan Chittister tells us. "It is a series of feasts that embed in us a kind of refracted glory, the underpinnings, the other pieces of the mosaic that complete the feast itself... Christmas -- the light that shone upon a manger -- was also, the ancients knew, the light that led them on beyond it as well," (The Liturgical Year, pg. 90).

During these 12 days several points from the Christian saga are relived. Interestingly, on the day after Christmas, Stephen, the first martyr is remembered. On the fourth day, the slaughter of Bethlehem's little children is commemorated. They are sometimes thought of as "proto-martyrs" -- killed for they're tenuous association with the Messiah before his movement fairly got started. 

The 12 days lead up to "Epiphany" or "Theophany" as Orthodox Christians call it. This day marks the visit of the three Magi, revealing the Messiah to the non-Jewish world. The Orthodox also celebrate Christ's baptism on that day, when his status as second person of the Trinity was revealed to the world.

Like the humble peasant girl who bore Jesus last week, let us, "commit these things to memory and consider them carefully," (Gospel of Luke, chapter 2 verse 19, CEB).

Aliens

The new civilization worshiping in the
Catacombs

Over the years I've gotten a few questions and comments something like this: "You say you're here to teach basic Christianity. Why don't you stick to that? Why do you keep posting about all these holidays? What do they have to do with the doctrines Christianity teaches?"

The answer is they have everything to do with it. Here is an important point: Christianity is not just a list of teachings by that nice Mr. Jesus. It is an entirely new civilization, commonly known as the Kingdom of God.

Of course there is no question that we should pay our taxes, participate in government, and support the PTA. And certainly we shouldn't be stern-faced sticks-in-the-mud who refuse to chat with the neighbors or go to the movies. Quite the opposite in fact. As St. Paul reminded his friends in Rome, "When God reigns, the order of the day is redeeming justice, true peace, and joy made possible by the Holy Spirit", (Letter to the Romans chapter 14 verse 17, The Voice Bible).

But did you catch it a couple of Sundays ago (if your church does Advent, that is)? The start of Advent is New Years Day for us. In fact Christians have an entire calendar of our own that doesn't begin in January or the Spring. It's designed to constantly remind us of the epicenter of our lives: The life, death, resurrection, and royal authority of the Messiah. That marks us out as different.

The idea isn't original. Ancient Israel was given a cycle of holidays to remind them of their own mighty "redemption" by God from Egypt and the blessings of their inheritance in the promised land. Jesus of Nazareth, being God and all, is superior to Moses, great though he was, and the spiritual agreement Jesus instituted supercedes the old, physical one. And we still have a year-round cycle of holidays helping us remember our own redemption by Jesus from something much more evil than the Egyptian Pharaoh and point us to a much greater "land" promised by Jesus.

Exiles

But that's just emblematic of a larger truth: That people who truly follow Jesus of Nazareth have not just a different calendar, but a different ruler and are citizens of another country. We live in our nations here on the Earth in much the same way ambassadors dwell in foreign lands. Or perhaps as underground resistance movements do, since we are busy building the Kingdom of God right under our neighbor's noses -- and inviting them in.

We are foreigners in this world and, like many

foreigners, not always welcome.

St. Peter was clear on this: "Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul," (First Letter of Peter chapter 2, verse 11).

Why? Because, "our citizenship is in heaven," said the Apostle Paul. "We look forward to a savior that comes from there—the Lord Jesus Christ," (Letter to the Philippians chapter 3, verse 20, CEB)

The earliest members of the Christian movement insisted that, because of the Holy Spirit's action within them, they were a "new race", a new kind of human being. One ancient author, writing probably a mere 30 years after the Apostle John died, described us this way:

"They live in their own countries, but only as aliens. They have a share in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign land is their fatherland, and yet for them every fatherland is a foreign land... They busy themselves on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven. They obey the established laws, but in their own lives they go far beyond what the laws require..."

( Letter to Diognetus chapter 5, verses 5 - 13)

A chapter title in C S Lewis' famous book Mere Christianity sums it up well: "Nice People or Changed Men?" As members of the Christian Movement we are not intended to change as little as possible so we can fit in here in this world. That "change" Lewis talks about transfers us "from the power of darkness... to the kingdom of the Son he loves" (Letter to the Colossians chapter 1, verse 13).

Once that supernatural change gets hold of us, it is only in that Kingdom that we can truly settle and finally belong.