Across the Pastor’s Desk by Mike Ellis

Lent recalls the 40 days of our Lord’s fasting in the desert, which he undertook before entering into his public ministry. We read in the Gospel: “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” (Matthew 4:1-2)

Like Moses, who fasted before receiving the tablets of the Law (cf. Exodus 34:28) and Elijah’s fast before meeting the Lord on Mount Horeb (cf. 1 Kings 19:8), Jesus, too, through prayer and fasting, prepared himself for the mission that lay before him, marked at the start by a serious battle with the tempter

This Lent let us take seriously the notion of fasting in our lives.  Let us enter a holy fast — and a holy feast in each of the days of this season, a fast in which we rend our hearts and not our garments, one in which we act as ambassadors for Christ, and allow God to make his appeal through us to the world. Let us this Lent reflect on the importance of fasting and feasting.

Fast from worry, and feast on trusting in God.

Fast from complaining, and feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives, and feast on affirmatives.

Fast from unrelenting pressures, and feast on unceasing prayer.

Fast from hostility, and feast on tenderness.

Fast from bitterness, and feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern, and feast on compassion for others.

Fast from the shadows of sorrow, and feast on the sunlight of serenity.

Fast from idle gossip, and feast on purposeful silence.

Fast from judging others, and feast on the Christ within them.

Fast from emphasis on differences, and feast on the unity of life.

Fast from apparent darkness, and feast on the reality of light.

Fast from thoughts of illness, and feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute, and feast on the phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent, and feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger, and feast on optimism.

Fast from personal anxiety, and feast on eternal truth.

Fast from discouragement, and feast on hope.

Fast from facts that depress, and feast on facts that uplift.

Fast from lethargy, and feast on enthusiasm.

Fast from suspicion, and feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken, and feast on promises that inspire.

Fast from problems that overwhelm, and feast on prayer that undergirds.

May he who came to the world to save sinners, strengthen us to complete the fast with humility.

 

Mike Ellis is deacon at St. Theodore Parish of Albert Lea and St. James Parish of Twin Lakes.