Fasting as a Spiritual Discipline

As I am sure most of you know, this month Muslims throughout the world have been observing Ramadan, which occurs during the ninth month of their calendar.  During the month, most Muslims fast during the daylight hours and eat small meals in the evening.  Time is spent visiting with friends and family.  The month is also devoted to contemplation and worship.  Tradition has it that this is the month that the Qur’an was sent down from heaven to Mohammed. 

 The Qur’an has this to say about fasting:

[[2:183] O you who believe, fasting is decreed for you, as it was decreed for those before you, that you may attain salvation.
[[2:184] Specific days (are designated for fasting); if one is ill or traveling, an equal number of other days may be substituted. Those who can fast, but with great difficulty, may substitute feeding one poor person for each day of breaking the fast. If one volunteers (more righteous works), it is better. But fasting is the best for you, if you only knew.

As you can note from this reading, some Muslims are exempt.  The ill and infirm, are exempted from fasting.  Children under the age of puberty are also exempt.  Travelers also are exempt, with the understanding that they will make up the days of fasting which they missed at a later time when they are no longer traveling.

The fasting is complete.  No food or liquid may be consumed during the daylight hours.  Further, smoking is forbidden, as are sexual relations.  Once the sun sets, however, one may both eat and drink.  This is a time for self reflection and examination.  Attendance at mosque often increases during Ramadan, as the practice of fasting is designed to focus upon Allah, to bring onself closer to Allah.

Islam is not the only religion to focus upon and recommend fasting, however.  Indeed, fasting has apparently existed since the beginning of time.  For example, India has a long history of asceticism which includes fasting.   Within the Hindu religion, fasting is fairly common.  Some Hindus will fast on certain days of the month, such as the eleventh day of each fortnight or on the full moon.  Then too, certain days of the week are set aside for fasting, depending upon personal belief and favorite deity.  Finally, fasting during or before religious festivals is fairly common too.

As Hindus vary in when they fast, they also vary in how they fast.  Many start fasting at sundown and break their fast 48 minutes after sunrise of the next day.  Fasting can mean not taking in food or liquid nourishment.  It can also mean limiting oneself to one meal per day, or limiting oneself from certain food types, or eating only certain food types. 

Why do Hindus fast?  Some engage in fasting as a form of penance, while others also engage in fasting to develop a close bond with their god or goddess.

Buddhism, in contrast, does not generally believe in fasting – viewing it as an extreme of an ascetic – as opposed to following the Middle Way, as taught by Buddha.

Like Islam, Judaism also demonstrates a long history of fasting.  There are two major days of fasting, which begin at sundown and continue until sundown of the next day occurs:  Yom Kippur and Tish’ah b’Av, which mourns the destruction of the two temples of Israel..  There are also five minor days of fasting.  On the major days of fasting, one neither eats nor drinks, not even water.  Further, one does not engage in sexual relations, wash or bathe, or apply cosmetics or creams.  It is even forbidden to wear leather shoes on that day, as doing so is viewed as a sign of extravagance.  Personal fasts may also be engaged in as a sign of repentance for some tragedy.

Biblical accounts of fasting appear early in Biblical history.  Moses fasted for 40 days and nights while he was on the mountain with God.   So too did King David.  The prophet Joel called for a fast to avert the judgment of God, while Isaiah, in chapter 58, chastised Israel for the way it fasted, noting that it complained:

"“Why do we fast, but you do not see?

Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”

 Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,

And oppress all your workers.

Look, you fsat only to quarrel and to fight

And to strike with a wicked first.

Such fasting as you do today

Will not make your voice heard on high.

 Is such the fast that I choose,

A day to humble oneself?

Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,

And to lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast,

A day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:

To loose the bonds of injustice,

To undo the thongs of the yoke,

To let the oppressed go free,

And to break every yoke.?

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 hid yourself from your own kin?

Then you light shall break forth like the dawn,

And your healing shall spring u p quickly;

Your vindicator shall go before you,

The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am"

 Clearly Isaiah was concerned over the purpose of fasting as well as how they were fasting, the how and why of people fasting. 

 Within Judaism, there are three main purposes to fasting:  1) as an aid in achieving atonement, since fasting is conducive to reflecting upon one’s shortcomings and sins of omission and commission; 2) commemorative mourning, as in mourning the destruction of the temple; and 3) commemorative gratitude.  By fasting, it is thought one can focus more upon the spiritual, thus bringing oneself closer to the level of ministering angels.

 Similarly, Christianity also has a long history of fasting, beginning with Jesus spending 40 days and nights in the wilderness, when he fasted.  There are also indications that members of the Early Christian Church fasted regularly.  Those of the Roman Catholic faith have a variety of fasting styles, ranging from abstinence of food to fasting with the elimination of specific food types, for example, meat on certain days during lent.

Protestants, to a great extent, have not practiced fasting much.  Speaking from my own experience, never in church were we encouraged to fast, although I knew some individuals who did.  It was a private practice, and one really did not talk about it much, if one engaged in fasting.  Those closest that I have ever come to fasting is when I have followed a diet.  Doing such requires discipline, and there are some similarities of it being a spiritual discipline, in that one is required to limit oneself, to hold the self and body in check.  But the focus is really different than when does for strictly religious reasons.

This now brings me to another focus.  Why am I talking about such things….several weeks ago I talked about forgiveness.  Today I’m talking about fasting.  Other times I have talked about meditation.  To what end? 

I believe that what we are really talking about here is the care of one’s soul.  But what do I mean by soul.  Well, as best as I can define it, and I can’t really, it is something that each and every one of us have.  It is our essence.  It is more than our conscious personality, because it also includes the unconscious in it.  It may even include our genetic make-up and predispositions.  But it is our essence – who we are in a deep, most basic sort of way.  What really makes us motivated, interested, and engaged.  It is us being deeply human.  Our feelings, our wants, and our cares.  That is as best as I can define it.  Do I believe it exists after our body ceases to exist.  I doubt it – but some would disagree with me.  But in any event, it is who we are in the most profound way.  And I believe things such as meditation, giving forgiveness, and yes, even fasting, are different ways we have to care for ourselves.  These are ways of spiritually nurturing ourselves, although at times it may feel like we are doing just the opposite to our physical body.

These exercises, as it were, are a way of exerting control over our lives.  In a very basic way, they allow us control over our bodies.  They can reinforce our sense of right relationship with the world.  And in penitence, they can result in a right relationship to God – whatever that term may mean to you.  The fact that many people from different religious persuasions have found them helpful in achieving penitence and in moving closer to the face of God leads me to believe that there is something to them.

This latter area, moving closer to the face of God, reflects the fact that Christian mystics have practiced  prayer, contemplation and fasting in their pursuit of mysticism.

My hope is that each of us can learn to take better care of our souls, however we understand the term.  For that is true love of self, to care for ourselves on a deep level.  At this time of hurt, we especially need to care for our souls, to love ourselves.  Indeed, we need to explore who and what we truly are as a religious people.  What is our mission as a congregation here in Orange County?  What are we to become as a religious people?  What type congregation will we be?

Will we be an open and affirming congregation, accepting all who enter our doors, or will we reflect the various –isms of American life, such as class-ism, racism, able-ism, homophobia-ism?  Will we be a truly Welcoming Congregation?  Will we be a private country club, hidden away from the crushes of life, a place of retreat for the intellectual?  Will we be engaged in the problems of the world, fighting for justice and to right the structures of evil?  Will we be a prophetic voice? 

Will we be a place of religious instruction, for our children and our members?  Or will we be a congregation devoted to the arts, both visual and performance?  And if so, will these arts be engaged with the contemporary world, or will they be idealist, separate and apart from the world?

Will we be a place of spirituality, where others may come for meditation and lectures?  Or will we be activist to the core, providing much needed meeting space for various non-profits and social activist groups in the county?

Do we want to take on environmentalism as our major issue?  Shall our new sanctuary – or at least new to us – reflect that by being a “green” building?

We must each answer these questions, individually, and corporately as a congregation.  Our answers will help us move forward, and help us answer the questions that are being sent out in the mail to our membership.  Where will we build?  What will we build?  Valid questions – but first – who indeed are we.  Should not this basic question, one of identity, be somewhat resolved, which can then help inform us on what we want to buy/build and where this structure should be located.

We must nurture our souls, be it through meditation, fasting, forgiveness, prayer, seeking of atonement, or whatever practice works for you.  Currently, we are a people, or congregation, in exile, seeking the Promised Land.  But through our combined contemplation and reflections, we must decide who and what we are to be as a religious people.  And from that answer, I truly believe, all the questions of building shall then fall into place. 

May it be so.