fasting

Changing Generations Means Changing Views on Fasting, Food and Body

Abbie Smith — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 09:55:37 -0800

(Due to thoughtful and lengthy responses, this facebook post seemed worthy to move into a blog conversation).

"Returning from a book group of girls ranging from their 20's to 80's. Today's topic began with fasting and moved into food, body-image, eating disorders, the birth of television and internet... Absolutely fascinating, and complex, to piece together change in the past decades. And to consider restoration in the decades to come! Out of curiousity, if you could say one thing about food or body to the generation below you, what would it be?"

Ramadan: Deny Yourself

Carrie Nye — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 11:09:13 -0700

Years ago I worked with a woman who fasted for one month out of the year. I didn't understand then, why, when our lunch break would come, she would drink a juice or water while I stuffed my face with that days craving. Now I know she was a practicing Muslim keeping Ramadan, the annual month long fast.

Ramadan is August 1 - August 30th. Thirty days of prayer for the Muslim World is a Christian international web based organization that encourages Christians around the world to pray specifically for Muslims to come to know Christ during the 30 day fast.

Click here to see the 30-days of prayer August 1st prayer guide.

Nataka is a Muslim woman who I spent a few hours with at her mosque in Cambridge, MA. I stumbled into the Mosque, unannounced and hoping to ask someone there what objections the Muslim faith has to Christianity. At the time, I was taking a class on Islam that helped prepare me for what answers I might hear. I didn't plan for this to happen, but as I was arriving so were a lot of taxis. Taxi drivers got out of their cars and began to greet one another and laugh together as they entered the mosque. I looked at the time and duh; it was time for the noon prayer that day. A little unsure of how I would be treated upon walking up to the main door unannounced and with my frizzy hair flowing down and exposed. It was the Imam who first welcomed me inside. After slipping my shoes off, he directed me to a staircase where a young woman, Nataka, was waiting to greet me.

Once at the top of the stairs I realized I was in a prayer room. The carpet all around had lines of duct tape marked so that one would know where to kneel in order to face Mecca while praying. Nataka informed me they were just beginning their prayers and that I could wait in the back where a handful of metal folding chairs were hugging the wall. I took my seat and heard the Imam lead the prayer downstairs and watched the handful of women in front of me, sit, bow, stand and all over again for about 12 minutes.

I took the opportunity to pray myself.

Nataka and I sat on the floor of the women's prayer room for over 2 hours as she patiently answered my questions about objections to Christianity. She had only one question for me. "If Christians believe it was Jesus, Gods only Son, who was crucified, then why do Christians wear the cross that killed him around their necks?" What a beautiful question she asked. After a little more talk, we wrapped up our conversation and I thanked her for allowing me to sit in the room while her and her friends prayed. I then asked her if it was okay if I pray for her in return. Muslims do not see God as an intimate Father who adores them, rather they think of Allah as a distant God who must be radically feared. So as I prayed for Nataka out loud on the floor of the Mosque, I prayed to Nataka's father. Nataka's name means Peace and I also prayed that she would meet the Prince of Peace. It was an unforgettable time with a beautiful daughter of a King; she just didn't know it at the time.

I share that story because when I think about Ramadan and when I think about praying for Muslims to meet Jesus, I can't help but wonder and think about Nataka. I have heard many stories of Muslims coming to know Jesus in a dream or a vision. Ramadan as one of Islam's 5 pillars, stems from the Old Testament act of fasting, otherwise referred to as 'to deny yourself.'

If you have the time, check out Leviticus 16 where this ordinance is being established. In Lev. 16, God is revealing the Day of Atonement to cleanse his people since they cannot fully obey his laws on their own. Leviticus 16:29-30 says,

"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work - whether native-born or an alien living among you - because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you."

This August I hope you think of the Muslims you know and I hope prayers are offered up on their behalf. They are incredibly devoted people who are incredibly misled. May the King of Kings hear your prayers and reveal himself to Muslims in our communities this Ramadan.

Slavery in America: The Year of Jubilee

Carrie Nye — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:57:17 -0700

On the way to church this morning, my mom and brother and I were talking about how our world would be so different today if we still practiced Jubilee. We talked about how great it would feel to have our debt wiped away and the opportunities we’d be given if only it were still practiced today.

Directly after the service, I ran into a friend of mine who I traveled with to Malawi a couple years ago. It’d been a few months since we’d run into each other. It was great to see him. He shared with us that he had been in our neck of the woods earlier in the week and had thought of me while nearby. He drew out the night and day differences between the area where I live and the area where we were attending church this morning. He asked, “Why aren’t we hanging out with the people who live in your neighborhood more?”

Every morning, I walk through my condo complex, onto the main street and walk about 5 minutes to my families’ house in order to borrow a car to drive to work. On my way, I walk under a freeway overpass, wearing my business work attire and carrying my lunch and my purse at my side. There are two homeless people living under that overpass, one on each side of the street. I walk briskly, hand tightly on the straps of my purse and lunch bag and I try not to inhale the urine stench lurking in the air. After about five minutes, I reach the car I borrow and drive off to work in one of Orange County's wealthiest cities.

Last weekend I had a conversation with a woman named Cathy. Cathy and I are working on a blog about American Slavery and Prostitution for the Slavery in America series here on ConversantLife.com. Cathy defined social justice in a way that really made sense to me. Cathy said social justice is removing barriers. Every morning, this past week, I thought about that as I walked under the overpass holding my breath and clutching my purse. What are the barriers that exist for the people sleeping under this stinky overpass?

On the way home from church, we talked about all the privileges we have as Americans. We were driving in a car; there’s one privilege that sets us apart from so many in our world. We have wireless internet in our homes and multiple computers just among the three of us. We can turn any faucet on in our homes and be assured it will spout out water until we deem it enough and turn the faucet off.

We talked about Isaiah 58. In the first part of the chapter, the people are grumbling at God because they fast and don’t think God sees their efforts. They humble themselves but wonder if God notices. The footnote for this passage in my Archeological Study Bible says, they were going through the motions of religion – specifically fasting – for the same reason the pagans participated in their rituals: in an attempt to manipulate God to act in their favor.

God responds in verses 6-7 with his purpose and design for fasting; the kind of fasting that is pleasing and acceptable to God. He says this:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

After taking a delightful Sunday afternoon nap, I wanted to look at Isaiah 58 a bit further. I pulled out a favorite book of mine off my bookshelf and searched the scripture index for Isaiah 58. I didn’t realize until I opened up to page 300 that the author, Christopher J. H. Wright correlates Isaiah 58 to the Hebrew Jubilee tradition. He says this about Jubilee:

It [Jubilee] set a temporal limit on unjust social relations – they would not last forever. The jubilee brought hope for change. The Jubilee had two major thrusts: release/liberty, and return/restoration. That is, these economic terms of hope and longing for the future, and thus entered into prophetic eschatology.

You can’t talk about the year of Jubilee and loosening the chains of injustice without talking about Jesus. Jesus’ words in Luke 4:18-19 present us with a personal mission statement about what he set out to do in his earthly ministry. Jesus’ mission is exactly God’s mission found in Isaiah with the Jubilee. Check this out:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Jesus is quoting Isaiah 61, which was strongly influenced by Jubilee concepts. Jesus fulfilled his Jubilee natured mission statement as proclaimed and enacted, spiritual and physical, for Israel and the nations, and in both present and eschatological terms.

There is another time where Jesus refers to Jubilee like actions when he encounters the Samaritan woman at the well. The woman talks about where she worships compared to where the Jews worship. She referred to worship as a place and Jesus replies to her by saying that true worshippers worship in both spirit and truth. Jesus says that God is spirit and therefore we must worship him in both spirit and in truth.

Going back to Isaiah 58, the kind of worship the people were practicing, was worship in a temple, one day a week. The kind of worship God desires is the kind that gets us out of the walls of our churches and into the communities where we live. God desires that we worship him by removing barriers that bind people in a state of bondage and oppression.

No matter where you live, you don’t have to go far to see injustice and people in great need. For my friend I saw at church today, he went about 15 miles. For me, I simply walk just a few minutes before I am approached with injustice.

I’ve been writing a lot lately on the problem of human trafficking in America. Human trafficking is a secondary problem of many deeply rooted problems of injustice. Human trafficking exists because in many places there is an absence of the rule of law that would serve to protect the poor and the vulnerable, most of who are women and children. It exists because there is a demand for sex by a people who are broken and searching for satisfaction that only God can bring. It exists because we are an ignorant people when it comes to how our food, clothing and cell phones are made and distributed to us. It exists because kids are fleeing broken homes and ending up in the arms of strangers who take advantage of them. It exists because America’s immigration system is so screwed up and people so desperate for a better life that many end up in dangerous situations and in corrupt hands. And is exists because people like me walk right by need daily, holding our breath from the raw stench and dirt, ignoring the problems that lay awake in our backyards in this country.

Isaiah 58 ends with powerful promises made by the Lord for those who choose to leave the comfort of their church pew and worship him in spirit and in truth. He says your light will rise in the darkness; your night will become like noonday. He will always guide you, you will be satisfied in the midst of great need and you will be known. You will be like a well-watered garden; like a spring whose waters never fail. You will rebuild and will be called repairer of broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings. You will find your joy in the Lord.

This human trafficking problem is much bigger than I first thought it would be. The ways of the Lord are much mightier still! Our hope is found in Jesus, the one who releases and restores! May we be people who practice Jubilee today, beginning with me.

Why I’m Drinking Only Water for 31 Days

Cara Davis — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:38:37 -0800

A lot of people start off the new year with a cleanse or fast or some sort – you know, to flush out the excess of the holidays and to start a new year refreshed and renewed physically and emotionally.

Personally, I’m not a fan.

I hate fasting (not that anyone loves it), and you won’t catch me with a colon-cleansing product on this side of the century.

With that said, I approached the new year’s fasting season with a fresh idea … at least for me. Instead of just going without, I’m going without so I can give.

As an editor, I have read a lot about social justice organizations that focus on giving access to clean water to developing countries. I’ve heard that it only takes a dollar to provide this clean water – the most basic necessity of human survival – to one person for an entire year. The problem? There are a billion people who need it, and many of those live on less than a dollar a day.

The implications for women and children are worse, as they waste 40 billion hours of labor each year carrying water – which may not even be clean – over long distances. So education and work, which could bring them out of poverty, are no longer options. Survival is the singular goal.

But the problem doesn’t stop there. Living Water International points out that no dollar amount will solve the global water crisis – only competent, responsible implementers will. The organization trains, consults and equips people all over the world to execute the most appropriate, cost-effective integrated water solutions and instructs them on how to teach others to do the same.

There are many organizations out there doing good work. As I started the new year, I thought about the commercialized, materialistic season we just left behind and I thought about man’s most basic need: water. Then I realized how much I take it for granted.

I don’t like exercise. I don’t like to drink water. I don’t like things that make me uncomfortable or that don’t taste good. It’s human nature, and worse than that, it’s the American mindset I’ve chosen to get comfortable with.

So I decided it was time for me to fast. But I chose a fast that’s a little different than most. I’m eating, for one thing, because if I didn’t eat for a month I’m pretty sure some of my bodily organs would begin to shut down. And I would probably go postal before that.

I’m simply choosing to only drink water as opposed to the usual chemicals I soak my body with: Diet Caffeine Free Dr. Pepper (seriously, can a drink with that many words in its name be any good for you?), Tall Skinny Sugar-Free Vanilla Lattes (who am I trying to fool with that one?), milkshakes (my perennial guilty pleasure) and White Grape Juicy Juice (I have a toddler, alright? Cut me some slack.)

So water it is. For a whole month. I'm on day 12 now, and frankly it's been a little harder than I thought it would be. But I'm doing it. And the point of all this? I’m taking the money I would have spent on other drinks and donating it to an organization that’s helping solve the global water crisis.

I’ve found this to be the best motivation I’ve ever had to fast. Every time I grab my Brita pitcher of filtered water, I can’t help but see the face of someone who’s got a whole lot fewer choices than I do in life. And as I pour a glass of water, I fight back any pitiful feelings of deprivation from not being able to grab that orange juice jug. As I drink the pure, clean water, I appreciate its availability in my home. And this month might be the first time I've ever done that.

Learn more about the global water crisis through these organizations and what you can do to help:

Did you do an unusual New Year’s fast? Comment below!

(article originally published on HalogenTV.com)

Social Justice is Sexy

Kristin Ritzau — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 22:09:16 -0700

Earlier this year, the students working in my office had agreat conversation after a “spoken word” event. This student, Bethany, brought to light what many of herpeers had been talking about: It’s very “in” right now to like social justice. This term is thrown around so much we have lost it’s very meaning. It is the new “sexy.” A person can easily go out in their Tom’s shoes, carrying their Whole Foods reusable bags, and buy organic fair trade coffee. They might even jump back into their hybrid car and go home to their eco-friendly appliances and watch a documentary on what is happening with the AIDS in Africa and then donate money to that cause. Those are great starts and definitely good things!

This past week Mia Farrow went on the Larry King show to talk about her “hunger strike” for 40 days to bring attention to the Sudan crisis. Mind you, I have been on a media fast this week, so I didn’t watch it, I just read the article quickly before I left for the mountains (that’s another blog), but something oozed in while I read the article and I haven’t been able to express it until now. Mia Farrow’s intentions are good, but is this what is needed right now? Women do not need to see more women starving themselves to bring an issue into the light. It takes a person of great privilege to “give up food for 40 days.” In the end we learn more about how much we can take rather than the person or people we were supposed to be fasting for.

In today’s day and age, giving up food is something of an accomplishment. Women who ate too much at lunch are lauded when they are too full to eat dinner. It is called discipline to some, bingeing to others. A woman who is seen as giving up chocolate or coffee or trying a new diet is easy to come by. A woman diving into her passions is another thing entirely. I love what all of these things stands for – Tom’s shoes, reusable bags, eco-friendly things -- but they are just that: things. We’re still not connected to people or to the cause if we are just collecting things or giving up food because we feel like that is what’s best. I’m sure if people in Africa heard we were giving up food for 40 days they would think we were nuts.

Social justice is not justice when people still do not have food or the disabled homeless person on the corner is walked right by as if they don’t exist. The real work of social justice is not sexy. It means moving into a neighborhood where all of the people don’t look and act like you. It means joining collaborative partnerships where you can learn from and help the poor because they really are people with great ideas too, sometimes they just haven’t had a chance. It means sharing your time with a kid or elderly person to learn their story and build a relationship. But you see, all of this takes a commitment, it takes time… and the shoes and the car and the bags well, they fit so nicely into the lives we’ve already created. We just substitute out the “other” instead of really changing ourlifestyle.

God calls us to be in the world and not of the world and as more and more RED shirts are sold and “paper or plastic” becomes a thing of thepast, I wonder if we really know what this means. As I look at Mia Farrow giving up food for 40 days, I wonder what would happen if we all gave up Facebook for 40 days or our ipods… I think that is the real sacrifice these days. Then we would have time to commit to other things… to justice issues, to people. Because social justice stops being sexy when there is a face and story behind the matter.