By Bishop Christian Alsted
Scripture: First book of Kings 19
We are on our way to Jerusalem—an emotional journey of triumph, betrayal, suffering, escape, disappointment, defeat, death, despair and resurrection. We are preparing to witness God’s salvation at work, making a new future possible. However, it takes time. Preparation, fasting, prayer, reflection, conversation and more prayer and fasting. Forty days from Ash Wednesday to Easter.
Forty is a well-known number in the Bible used in several stories, one of them we find in First Kings chapter 19.
After his great spiritual battle against the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled and walked around for forty desperate days in the wilderness, until he finally had a fresh encounter with God, who revealed himself to him in a surprising new way, in a thin and quiet sound.
It may not be planned that way; however, the fast this year begins only a week after the end of the called session of General Conference. We find ourselves at a time when we, as United Methodists, need to pause and reflect on how we are doing as a Christian community in light of the pain we inflicted on each other through our words, thoughts and behavior during the conference.
The Christian practice of fasting rests on the acknowledgement of our staggering capacity as human beings. We are capable of doing terrible things, and yet at the same time we carry God’s image within. What becomes of our lives does not rest on our ability to pull ourselves together, but exclusively on which powers we allow to influence our lives. When Jesus reaches out to us with his gifts, we choose how to utilize them. Fasting helps us to be better stewards of God many gifts. Fasting makes our personal baggage less heavy, our goal clearer and our desire for spiritual depth more intense.
Fasting is a struggle. It is part of what Paul means, when he speaks about fighting the good fight of faith (1.Tim. 2:12). We stretch as far as we can to do something serious about our lives, resist sin and break unhealthy behavioral patterns. We realize, it needs to be done, and yet our spiritual laziness makes us put it off for a later time. Wesley repeatedly lifted up the Paul’s encouragement to work on our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil.2:12). This is by no means an easy endeavor, but it is a necessary struggle to keep the faith and to grow into Christ likeness.
As a gardener, my wife is a zealous pruner. When she gets started, no tree or bush in our garden is safe, and she is ruthless. As the wise gardener she is, she only prunes healthy trees and bushes, because pruning will make them even stronger and increase their fruit. In the same way, Elijah was pruned of his pride, his self-pity and most importantly of his limited understanding of God. Elijah’s pruning lasted for forty days, until he was finally ready for a fresh encounter with God.
We need the fasting tide. And though it may be a challenging spiritual discipline, the good news is: There is a fresh encounter with God waiting for you somewhere in the future. We are moving towards Easter. Life will conquer death, and Jesus is carrying out his salvation among us.