The Discipline of Lent, Part I

With Lent having begun yesterday, I thought I would begin a series of posts that cover the Discipline of Lent.

What do I mean by discipline? Well, one of the things that is so amazing about Lent is that in this season we hear "our Lord's call to intensify our struggle against sin, death, and the devil— all that prevents us from trusting in God and loving each other" (Maundy Thursday litany). One of the ways we carry out that struggle against sin death and devil is by exercising the Discipline of Lent.
The Discipline of Lent is four-fold: repentance, fasting, prayer and works of love (alms).
These four areas of our Christian Discipleship become the specific occasions and opportunities for spiritual renewal during this season of renewal. Living out a discipline takes our Lord's words about self-denial seriously (Matthew 16:24). Through discipline, we find freedom and grace, just as parental discipline is loving and brings a child to freedom and righteousness (Hebrews 12:3-13). In the Lenten Discipline, we focus our lives on Christ's self-sacrificing passion, death and resurrection, which has brought us forgiveness, reconciliation, and redemption by God.
Today we'll tackle the first Lenten Discipline: repentance
Repentance Repentance means turning 180 degrees away from sin to walk toward God. Repentance includes an examination of our lives and our actions in light of God's grace and love, which comes to us free and undeserved through Christ's death and resurrection. St. Paul tells us that we have been joined to Christ's death and resurrection through our dying to sin and rising to new life in Holy Baptism (Romans 6:3-4). Repentance therefore also means returning to our Baptism, remembering our Baptism, and living in that Baptism.
Here are some ways in which we can make that return to our Baptism through the Discipline of Repentance this Lententide:

1. Remember your Baptism each day when you rise and before you retire by placing a small bowl of water in your bedroom, dipping your fingers in it and making the sign of the cross while saying the Invocation: "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen."
2. Having attended the Ash Wednesday Liturgy to begin your Lent in repentance, having received the sign of ashes upon your forehead as a sign of repentance and renewal, continue to attend the midweek services as an intentional act of turning away from your sins toward the love of Christ crucified.
3. Attend the Divine Service each Sunday to repent of your signs and receive absolution "from the pastor as from God Himself" (Small Catechism).
4. During your daily prayers, examine your life in light of the Ten Commandments and ask God to forgive you and to lead you into ways of loving him and your neighbor more deeply.
5. Take advantage of private confession with your pastor. If there are not posted hours for private confession, call your pastor to make an appointment with him. In preparation, read Luther's instruction on confession in the Small Catechism.
6. If there is conflict or tension between you and someone else in your life, seek to resolve it so that it does not become a stumbling block to your faith and spiritual growth.
7. Attend the Holy (Maundy) Thursday liturgy to receive a final individual absolution of your sins, in order to close out this season of repentance and renewal.
8. Renew your Baptismal vows at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday as final preparation for the great 50 days of celebrating the Easter victory.

There be Ashes Here

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

These words constitute your call to observe the holy season of Lent. It is your call to observe Lent by slowing down, taking a deep breath, and meditating on who you are... and what God has done for you. It is a time to strip away the non-essential and the unimportant. It is a time to listen in quietness to creation's groaning as it writhes in sinfulness. It is a time to reflect upon the depth of our own sinfulness. And thanks be to God! It is a time to savor anew God's full and free gift of total forgiveness which comes through the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Today is Ash Wednesday, and so we hear the words:

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

From ancient times, these words (a paraphrase of God's Word to Adam in Genesis 3:19) have been spoken to young and old alike as the sign of the cross is traced on their foreheads with ashes. It is from these ashes, in fact, that Ash Wednesday receives its name. The custom of places ashes on one's forehead has its genesis in the ancient custom of rubbing oneself in ashes during a fast or period of penance as a sign of humility and sorrow. In Scripture, we observe this happening among people as varied as Job (Job 2:8), the king of Ninevah and the rest of the city (Jonah 3:4-10), Daniel (Daniel 9:4-14), and Mordecai (Esther 4:1).

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

The ashes are a sign of our mortality and a sign of our repentance. By receiving the ashes, the worshiper acknowledges that God's judgment against our sin is right and just. We acknowledge our sin and our sinfulness and bow down before the Holy God of heaven and earth in repentance and mourning.

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

But even in the midst of mourning, there is joy. For the ashes are also made in the sign of the cross— the instrument by which our Lord took upon Himself the punishment for our sin, in our place. These cruciform ashes remind us of a reality that is even more rock-bottom than death: there is One who became our dying Dust for us and took that Dust through death upon a cross and burial into a glorious resurrection and a life that never ends. We are dying; we are headed to death indeed, but as Christians these ashes also remind us to look in hope toward Christ crucified to redeem this mortal clay. It is a remembrance that Christ took our place in these ashes, the ash of our mortality and the ashes of our sins, that Christ took them all the way to the cross and so has won for us everlasting joy that comes with the forgiveness of sins.

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

With these ashes we begin Ash Wednesday. Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy; Lord, have mercy.

Tomorrow Is Lent!

Dear friends in Christ, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day in the Holy Season of Lent. "Lent?" you say? What dat? Well... Lent is a Holy Season of the Church Year lasting 40 days. It's a season during which Christians pay particularly close attention (even more than usual!) to Jesus going to the cross for sinners and taking the opportunity to receive even more of Christ's gifts to us in Word and Sacraments.
The season of Lent has a rich history in the church. First of all, there's all the "40" associations that come to mind from the Bible... In the Old Testament, there's the 40 days and nights that rained during the Flood. There's the 40 years that the Children of Israel wandered about in the wastelands on their way to Promised Land. There's the 40 days of repentance which the city of Ninevah undertook upon hearing God's Word through His prophet Jonah. In the New Testament, there's Jesus fasting and praying 40 days in the wilderness and being tempted by the devil. There's the 40 days after Jesus rose on Easter until He ascended into heaven.
40 was apparently an important number in the Bible. But did you notice? All of these "40s" had a component of reflection and devotion in the Church Year. Taking up that theme, the 40 days of Lent was created by the Early Church as a time to remember that we, God's people, are still in the "wilderness" of this life and our Lord is there taking care of us.
A good idea... But, as sinners are wont to do, as time went by, Lent gradually became a season that was less about Jesus and more about "me!" When sinners pulled a big whopper, the priests would say that they could only come back into the church after a time of fasting and prayer. That was the main part of Lent: the "penitents," the people who had really blown it, were working their way back into the good graces of the Church. In other words, over time Lent ended up having more to do with people trying to overcome their sins than Jesus overcoming them for us!
So, among the Lutherans, after the Reformation, Lent was again given its place as a time to focus and rejoice on the suffering and death of Jesus for our sins. Sure, we think about our sins because they caused Jesus to go to the cross. But we rejoice that He went to the cross to take away our sins. Think of Lent as the time to pay close attention to what exactly Jesus has done for you. In Lent, we have more opportunities to hear the Good News that Jesus is our Savior and to receive His holy gifts of absolution and His body and blood. Here at Hope on Wednesdays during our Midweek Services (1:00 & 7:00 p.m.), we will focusing specifically on the Passion Account, as we go through a six week series on the Passion of Christ, according to the Gospel of St. Mark.
But beware! Many people, when they hear "Lent," only hear "giving something up." Some people give up chocolate for Lent. Some give up TV or candy or other things they like. But... WHY do people give things up? It has to do with the tradition of fasting. Fasting means having less of something or giving something up. That's a good idea if there's something that you really like so much it consumes you. If something in your life fits the bill, then use this Lententide to give it a rest and learn to live by God's Word rather than the things you love more than God's Word.
But, again, beware! Some people think the point of giving something up in Lent is to deny themselves some pleasure and so make themselves more sad or mopey. You can tell when this is happening when someone uses every opportunity to tell everyone under the sun what they've given up for Lent. Remember: Lent isn't about YOU. It's about Jesus. If you want to give something up, give it up so you can have more Jesus not because Jesus will like you if you stop eating ice cream or give up coffee!
Anyway, that's all I have to say about Lent (for now!) It's a solemn season, but not a joyless one. After all, how can we fail to rejoice when our Lord is headed to Calvary for our sins? He died and rose for us and that makes Lent a really great time of year! 40 days of what, you say? 40 days of Jesus all for you! This article borrows heavily from here. SDG!

Sermon for the Transfiguration of Our Lord, A+D 2010

Before reading the sermon, please read the lessons from God's Holy Word.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
"It's good to be here." I seem to recall saying those words the time I made it to the top of Larch Mountain— an extinct volcano out in Oregon. And let me tell you— when you're standing on its summit, 4,000 feet up in the air, literally surrounded by the peaks of mountaintops, volcanos... the outstanding view of nearby Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Mount Jefferson, Mount St. Helens... you can't help but think how good it is to be there. But maybe you've never climbed a mountain. Maybe for you it was camping with your family or casting your line out into the lake. Maybe it was sitting in a tree stand in early October or maybe just relaxing in the living room as the grandkids scamper around the room. Every one of us has a place we just love to be. A place where it's right and appropriate to say: "Yes. This is good. It's good to be here."

Well what I'd like to ask you about this morning is (predicably): what about this place, this church? How 'bout here? Surrounded by brothers and sisters who, despite our disagreements, brothers and sisters who share a united faith in Christ… fellow Christians who shoulder similar burdens… surrounded by fellow sinners who need a God who saves, who need God's love, His presence, His gospel? It is good to be here, isn't it? Where else throughout the week can you focus so intently on Jesus? Where else do you have the opportunity to put everything else on hold so you can see and hear only Jesus?
Consider with me for a moment another time when those words were spoken, when Peter spoke up to Jesus and said, as St. Luke records for us, "Master, it is good that we are here" (v.33). It's that scene on the mountaintop when Jesus has taken Peter, James and John up on the mountain so that Jesus can be transfigured, transformed: Now about eight days after these sayings [Jesus] took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray. And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white... Now Peter and those who were with him were heavy with sleep, but when they became fully awake they saw his glory... And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!" (vv.28–39, 32, 35)
What a sight! What a sound! It was good for Peter and his brethren to be there— because it was a time for them to focus themselves oh-so-clearly on who Jesus was. It was good for them to be there because they needed... they desperately needed! to know TO KNOW! that this Jesus was truly God. Not a man with God-like powers, but God Himself... God in the flesh... God Incarnate come to us. It was important because all-too-soon, these three men would have some very different sights and sounds to cope with. With their eyes they would soon see Jesus arrested in the garden, flogged by Pilate and pierced on Calvary. With their ears they would soon hear the crowds say "Away with this man! Release Barabbas!" (Luke 23:18). They would hear the masses shout "Crucify him! Crucify him!" (Luke 23:21). And if they were close enough to the cross they would hear Jesus himself cry out in agony, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) ...Because they would see all those things with their own eyes, and hear them with their own hears, it was important that they first get a chance to see and hear who Jesus really was. They needed to know who Jesus really was so they wouldn't get fooled by the crown and the cross.
It's important for us too. We're about to take another Lenten journey, tracing the somber steps of our Lord. But if the suffering and death of Jesus are to mean anything to us, we too need to know who He is suffering and dying for us. The Mount of Transfiguration reminds us that this wasn't just man— this is God Himself. We think about that when we see Him walking to cross, the weight of our sins –our evil– on His back; and the Mount of Transfiguration reminds us that (being God) He wasn't pushed or prodded. He wasn't coaxed or coerced. Nobody twisted His arm and nobody forced His hand. This is the Son of God, willingly offering up His life— for you. Do you remember what Jesus says in John 10? He says, "I am the Good Shepherd… I lay down my life for the sheep… no one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:15,18).
This is what was spoken by the Son of God. True, He was partially hidden, veiled in human flesh, but He never ceased to be true God, glorious God. The Transfiguration account reminds us that! Even though Jesus veiled His divinity in the flesh, even though Jesus is now hidden from us because He has ascended into heaven, the Mount of Transfiguration reminds us about just who this Jesus really is. We can see it: "And as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white" (v.29). We can hear it, too: "This is My Son, my Chosen One; listen to him." Yes, listen to Him.
Peter, by the way, would have been wise to do a little more listening on the mountain. Instead, before listening (as was his wont), before getting all the facts, Peter starts to talk. Instead of keeping his mouth shut and figuring out what's going on, he talks; he starts spouting off about earthly shelters. Listening would have been a better option. Listening would have been a FAR better option.
But, again, before we get all up on our high horse, we're not so different than Peter. Without thinking and without knowing all the facts, we can do an awful lot of speaking sometimes. We can spend a frightful amount of time complaining about undeserved hardships or grumbling about burdens. We complain to each other. We complain to God! We think how better served we'd be if God would just listen to us a little more often. We climb up to the rooftops to sing out our own songs of self-praise. We open our mouths to make excuses for our bad behavior and our bad decisions. Yet at the same time, how quick we are to point out this person's fault and that person's fault. Basically, we like to talk!
But... listening is a far better option. Listen to Him. Focus your ears on the One who created you and then adopted you as His own through Holy Baptism.
Listen to Him, even when that's hard work: when He teaches you, in his Word, about right and wrong... when He looks under the rugs in your life and speaks against the dirt and grime in your heart. Listen to Him when He exposes selfish motives and material mindsets. Listen to Him when He indicts you for your half-hearted discipleship, your focus on worldly things. Listen to Him when He says: "cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law" (Gal. 3:10). Listen to Him because, hey!— He's not speaking to you in hypotheticals… He's speaking to you... directly against you!
It's a hard word to hear, but take heart!— because He's also speaking directly to you when He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). Take heart!— because He's also speaking to you when we kneel before Him and He says those gentle yet powerful words: "Take; eat. Take; drink. You are at peace with God, your sins are forgiven." He's also speaking to you when (despite our being abandoned in our deepest need by friends and allies), when the voice of your Savior says "Never!" "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Heb. 13:5). And even when that ancient foe, death itself, comes calling, your Savior's voice speaks with a greater authority: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies" (John 11:25).
It's good to be here today because God is speaking to us. And the voice of God transfigures our perception. He's telling us —He's telling us not what we want to hear— but what we need to hear. He's telling us what we need to take with us when we walk out that door, back out into the world, back out into a place where we're no longer surrounded by like-minded Christians... where we're no longer encouraged by vivid reminders of our Savior... He's reminding us of what we need to hear when we find ourselves too-often surrounded by bad influences and visual distractions.
That's why, truly, it IS good to be here. It's good to be here where God's Word is proclaimed, spoken, shared, and sung. It's good to be here reminded of the true divinity of Christ. Know that the Lord Jesus Christ is anywhere and anywhen you call on Him. He is anywhere you read His Word or recall His Word. So hear the Good News to keep your eyes focused on Him and your ears fixed to His voice. Strive to see and hear only Jesus, not just today, but every day... and God will see you through. In Jesus' name, Amen.

The peace of Christ, which surpasses all understanding, guard and keep you in Christ Jesus, Amen.

Walther's Words of Welcome to New Church Members

C.F.W. Walther, pastor, theologian, seminary professor, and founding president of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LC-MS), once wrote these words to new members of his congregation. They are pearls of wisdom that speak powerfully and cogently to a new generation where many Lutheran Christians have lost sight of what it means to be Lutheran... of what it means to unite with an Evangelical Lutheran congregation. He writes:

Uniting with a truly Evangelical Lutheran congregation ... is a good deed only if they wish to join such a congregation in preference to a congregation of another denomination because they are convinced that only the Evangelical Lutheran Church teaches the pure, unadulterated doctrine of God's Word. Were someone, however, to seek voting membership in a Lutheran congregation simply because he was born and reared in its midst, or to please his parents, or because his friends are members of that congregation, or because the location of its church makes it convenient to attend its services, he would not perform a good deed, even though God may have led him into that church for the purpose of making him a true Lutheran, in other words, an orthodox Christian.

What has been said emphasizes three factors that are essential in the makeup of a genuine member of a Lutheran congregation:

1. A genuine member of a Lutheran congregation must have a thorough understanding of pure Lutheran doctrine or at least must desire to grow in the knowledge of it. Such a one will imitate the Bereans in searching the Scriptures daily, he will not lay aside his Catechism when he has completed his elementary school training, but throughout his life continue to review it in order that he may understand it better and become more thoroughly grounded in it. He will read other good orthodox books and periodicals to become ever more firmly established in the pure doctrine. In Hebrews 5 those Christians who are neglectful in this point are censured. We read: "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, yet you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
2. A member of a Lutheran congregation must be able to defend his faith and to prove its correctness from God's Word. St. Peter writes, 1 Peter 3:15: "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." A sad state of affairs is revealed when members of a Lutheran congregation, asked about their faith, say, "You will have to ask my pastor about that."
3. A member of a Lutheran congregation should be able to distinguish pure doctrine from false doctrines. Only spineless Lutherans can say: "What do I care about doctrinal controversies! They do not concern me in the least. I'll let those who are more learned than I am bother their heads about such matters." They may even be offended when they observe that religious leaders engage in doctrinal disputes. A genuine Lutheran will not forget that in the Epistle of Jude also lay Christians are admonished "earnestly to contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints." What is more, Christ warns all Christians: "Beware of false prophets." And St. John writes in his first epistle: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." It is a settled fact that whoever is indifferent to false doctrine is indifferent also to pure doctrine and his soul's salvation, and has no right to bear the name Lutheran and the name of Christ.

Commemoration of Valentine, Martyr

Our churches teach that the remembrance of the saints is to be commended in order that we may imitate their faith and good works according to our calling. — Augsburg Confession 21


It's always amazing to me how clueless most people are about what St. Valentine's Day is all about. Or more properly, why we would celebrate the Commemoration of St. Valentine, Martyr. Valentine's Day has nothing at all to do with flowers and cards and pink sentimentality.
So, who was Valentine? Tradition says he was a physician and a priest who was martyred on February 14, 270 A.D. Of course, there is considerable dispute about this since Valentine doesn't appear on the earliest lists of martyrs. The festival commemorating St. Valentine was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among those "whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God."
Tradition suggests that on the day he was executde for his Christian faith, he left a note of encouragement for a child of his jailer written on an irregularly-shaped piece of paper (♥). This greeting became a pattern for millions of written expressions of love and caring that now are the highlight of Valentine’s Day in many nations.

We pray— Almighty and everlasting God, You kindled the flame of Your love in the heart of Your holy martyr Valentine. Grant to us, Your humble servants, a faith like Valentine’s and the power of love, that we who rejoice in Christ’s triumph may embody his love in our lives; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

When You Fast...

Did you know that our Lord Jesus Christ assumed that His disciples would fast, just as He assumed they would pray? Jesus commended fasting as a private act of humility and devotion to God (see Matthew 6:16-18). Note particularly that he says, "When you fast…" not "If you fast…" Take a look at Matthew 9:14-15. The first Christians fasted (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23). Why shouldn't a twenty-first century Christian do likewise?
It is for this reason that one traditional aspect of the Lenten observance has always included fasting. Lutheran Christians (at least until recently), that is, have always fasted during Lent... not because they HAD to, but because they could. We do not fast in order to earn brownie points with God, instead as an opportunity to practice self-discipline... in order to better focus our hearts and minds on the profundity of the sacrifice that Christ Jesus made on our behalf. It is good to remember that Lent has historically, throughout the Church's history, been a time that involves fasting. In fact, the German name for Lent used historically in Luthernaism is Fastenzeit- "Fast time." The spiritual discipline of fasting was always part of historic Lutheranism, but as in so many other areas of our church life, the desire to "fit in" with the rest of American Protestantism, led this practice to fall into disuse among us. Luther assumed that fasting would be a part of Lutherans' practice when they prepare to receive the Supper, for in the Catechism he writes, "Fasting is indeed fine outward bodily preparation…" What he goes on to say about the proper preparation being faith and trust in Christ was never intended to be an excuse not to fast. In The Lutheran Study Bible there is a great article on fasting and I thought you might find it useful as you consider how you will be observing Lent.

Afflicting One's Soul The modern Jewish calendar has 28 fasting days, but in the Old Testament, God commanded only one annual fast. In Lv 16:29–31, Moses gave God's dictum to "afflict [deny] yourselves" on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In response to the atonement for Israel's corporate sin, devout Israelites would fast from morning until evening on the tenth day of the seventh month. Before the exile to Babylon, Israelites fasted during times of impending danger, mourning, sickness, threat of war, distress, and sorrow. For example, Hannah did not eat because of the great stress brought about by her barrenness (1Sm 1:7), and David fasted after learning of Abner's death (2Sm 3:35). Religious leaders also mandated periods of fasting at times of great national crisis (cf Jgs 20:26; 2Ch 20:3; Jer 36:9). These examples show that fasting was an expression of sorrow and, most important, an expression of repentance. Overindulgence Where faith is strongest, Satan works hardest. While God esteems those who are "humble and contrite in spirit" (Is 66:2), Satan vigorously attacks them with temptations to overindulge. Thankfully, God did not leave His people powerless in their sin. In answer to prayer, God sent Isaiah to call passionately for their repentance and help them understand the true character of fasting as an expression of sorrow over sin and an opportunity to have mercy on the hungry (Is 58:3–8). Unfortunately, instead of heeding God's call, the people continued in their self-centeredness and thus brought about the Babylonian exile. For God's people, the Babylonian exile and the destruction of the first temple by Nebuchadnezzar (587 BC) was a turning point in history rivaled only by the Roman destruction of Herod's temple (AD 70). As a result of the exile, four new fasts were added to the Jewish calendar, each marking key historical dates leading up to and including the exile (Zec 8:18–19). For instance, a fast in the fourth month laments the breach of Jerusalem's outer wall by Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 52:6–7). A fast in the fifth month commemorates the burning of God's holy temple and other buildings (2Ki 25:8–9), while a fast in the seventh month marks the assassination of Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had placed as governor over Judah (Zec 7:5). Finally, a fast during the tenth month is held in memory of Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem (2Ki 25:1). These fasts served a holy purpose: they reminded the Israelites of the sorrows brought by neglecting God's Word. However, over time fasting became another way the Israelites abused God's Word. In the hope of preventing any further captivity, Jewish scholars pored over the writings of Moses, frantically searching for a reason why God exiled them. They determined to apply the Law more vigorously. What followed was a fundamental shift in their belief system. To this day, many Jewish people still believe that if they keep all the laws perfectly, they will gain salvation. Fasting changed from an expression of repentance to compulsory appeasement of a legalistic code. This deception led many astray to spend eternity apart from the Lord, who desires to save all people (1Tm 2:3–4). The Appearing of Christ Before the birth of Jesus, the Pharisees mandated twice-weekly fasting (Lk 18:9–12). The Essenes, a splinter group that may have lived at Qumran, centered much of their lives on fasting. For the unfaithful, fasting was something done to curry God's favor—a duty, a work, a law. But for the faithful, fasting continued as an expression of repentance and reverence for the Lord, who created them and promised to redeem them. After Jesus' Baptism, He went into the wilderness and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights (Mt 4:2). This recalled the devotion of Moses (Ex 24:18), the great prophet Elijah (1Ki 19:8), and the 40 years of wilderness wandering for Israel. During this fast, Satan repeatedly tempted Jesus, but He used God's precious Word to defend Himself. Fasting for You During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke against fasting as a means of salvation. Instead, He commended fasting as a private, voluntary act of humility before God (Mt 6:16–18). Take a few moments now to read His words and reflect on your own devotion. If you are like most people, you have thought more about dieting than fasting. It is hard to imagine a daylong fast. No doubt fasting for 40 days like Jesus did after His Baptism is out of the question. Yet our Lord's words clearly reveal that fasting should be part of a Christian's life: He said, "When you fast" (Mt 6:16), not "If you fast" (cf Mt 9:14–15). The early Christians fasted (Ac 13:2–3; 14:23). Why shouldn't a twenty-first-century Christian do likewise? As you fast, let the feelings of hunger you experience remind you to pray. Spend the time you would normally spend eating by reading God's Word and meditating on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Through His Word, the Lord will bless and nourish you. "Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness 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, and He will say, 'Here I am' " (Is 58:8–9).

How You Might Fast Consider fasting for a meal or two before partaking of the Lord's Supper. Spend your extra time studying God's Word and singing Communion hymns. Fasting during Lent can be a wonderful way to remember the perfect obedience of Christ and His sacrifice for your salvation. Money not spent on food may be donated for the poor. You might follow this routine for a daylong fast: (1) rise before dawn and eat breakfast; (2) examine yourself as you would prior to partaking of the Lord's Supper; (3) offer your life to God in penitent prayer; (4) go about your day, breaking your fast at evening. If you are diabetic, fasting could be hazardous. Check with your doctor. Do not consider fasting as a dieting program. If abstaining from food is not possible, consider abstaining from something else. For example, turn off your television and spend time in prayer and study of God's Word.

Source: The Lutheran Study Bible, page 189.