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COVER STORY: Feeling deprived? Lenten fast can refocus consumer mindset Mary Jacobs, Feb 2, 2007
Empty plate, uncluttered spirit? Some say fasting clears the way for a closer relationship with God.
While praying for a friend in her car, Lynne Baab decided to "fast" from the music she usually listens to when driving. Two things happened: She began to see another way to pray for her friend's difficulties, and she noticed that her car was making a funny noise.
Ms. Baab, author of Fasting (InterVarsity Press, 2007) says the experience opened her eyes. She realized that "fasting is not about self-punishment, it's about making space for God. We remove something habitual so we can experience something new."
Turning off the music allowed her to notice a problem she hadn't before -- averting a more costly repair -- and to focus more deeply in her prayers.
When Lent begins Feb. 21, some United Methodists will "fast" by giving up a favorite food or indulgence, during the season in which the church commemorates the 40 days Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness before beginning his public ministry.
For many, a Lenten fast serves as a daily reminder of Christ's sacrifice. But among most modern Christians, fasting remains a neglected spiritual practice.
Author Frederica Mathewes-Green thinks that's a loss.
"We fast because we see that Christ expected we would fast," she said. "He didn't say 'If you fast,' he said 'When you fast.'"
Ms. Baab, who is an ordained Presbyterian minister, believes Americans are averse to fasting "because we have become fearful of deprivation of any kind." Messages in advertising add up to one subtle message: 'If I forego any pleasure, I might be diminished as a person.'
Both authors say this aversion points to reasons why fasting may be more important than ever.
"We live in such a consumerist culture where there is so much abundance," said Ms. Mathewes-Green, who is an Eastern Orthodox Christian.
"Consumerism changes the way we see ourselves. It empowers us to express our particular individuality, and we feel stronger and we revel in this ability to have these individualized experiences. And then we wonder why we're so lonely."
Fasting, she said, allows Christians to walk away from that consumerist mindset.
"Fasting ushers us into a reflective place where we can listen to God and pray wholeheartedly for things that really matter," Ms. Baab added.
The United Methodist Church does not have a specific policy about fasting, but the practice has been a part of Methodism from its earliest beginnings. Wesley considered the practice firmly grounded in the Bible and an important part of a Christian's life.
"To Wesley, fasting was an important way to express sorrow for sin and penitence for overindulgence in eating and drinking," according to the UMC's official Web site. "Fasting was more meaningful, Wesley believed, if combined with giving to the poor." Wesley counted fasting, along with prayer and Bible study, as key spiritual disciplines, or "means of grace," as he called them.
Ms. Baab believes that "fasting was designed to be a communal discipline," as a way to support one another in focused prayer.
That's how United Methodists have used fasting from time to time. Before the 2000 and 2004 General Conferences, the Council of Bishops issued a Call to Prayer and Fasting to prepare for each gathering. Bishops committed to observing a "Wesley fast," following John Wesley's example of fasting every Friday.
While Wesley advocated fasting, he cautioned against extreme fasting, or fasting as a way of piously "showing off." (Anyone considering fasting should check with a physician before attempting a total fast -- i.e. no food, water only -- for more than 24 hours.)
But Wesley's notions of fasting were developed at a time when people weren't bombarded with constant, conflicting messages about food-advertisements tempting us with delicious foods alongside images depicting thinness as the ultimate standard of beauty.
Were Wesley to see how modern Christians obsess about eating and dieting, he might agree that fasting from food is not for everyone.
"For myself, I'm totally against fasting," said Jenny Redding Rhodes, a Vanderbilt Divinity School graduate who wrote her master's thesis on eating disorders out of her own struggles with anorexia. "I think it takes someone with a very healthy mindset about their bodies and their health in general to do it and not go overboard."
Ms. Rhodes recalled how her church youth group observed a "30-Hour Famine" to raise money for the hungry. "It's a great idea, but my parents would not allow me to participate because it gave me an excuse not to eat," she said. Ms. Baab agrees. "Many people should not be fasting from food. People who have had an eating disorder should not fast, ever. And anyone who has dieted a lot should consider other ways of fasting."
Approaching fasting as a way of 'killing two birds with one stone' -- observing a spiritual discipline and dropping a few extra pounds at the same time -- doesn't work, Ms. Baab said.
But for those who shouldn't or can't fast from food, there are other ways to profit from this spiritual discipline.
"A spirit of fasting can include restriction of luxuries such as television watching, shopping and going out with friends," according to UMC.org. "We can give away clothing or possessions to those in need or we can give time to the Lord by volunteering our services or special prayers and devotions."
And that, says Ms. Baab, is both the essence and the power of fasting.
"Fasting is stopping consuming, whether it's stopping consuming food, or e-mail or TV," said Ms. Baab. "It gives you the ability to step aside from the forces in your life that hold you captive."
This is the first in a series of stories focusing on spiritual formation. mjacobs@umr.org
Empty plate, uncluttered spirit? Some say fasting clears the way for a closer relationship with God.
deprivation of any kind." Messages in advertising add up to one subtle message: 'If I forego any pleasure, I might be diminished as a person.' 
"Consumerism changes the way we see ourselves. It empowers us to express our particular individuality, and we feel stronger and we revel in this ability to have these individualized experiences. And then we wonder why we're so lonely." 
"For myself, I'm totally against fasting," said Jenny Redding Rhodes, a Vanderbilt Divinity School graduate who wrote her master's thesis on eating disorders out of her own struggles with anorexia. "I think it takes someone with a very healthy mindset about their bodies and their health in general to do it and not go overboard." 
