Good Morning Friends,
Today’s scripture is about changing traditions and attitudes. We see it in the story of Jacob claiming Esau’s blessing and birthright and in Jesus and the disciples not keeping traditional fasts while others felt so obliged. There is a fairness issue that arises out of both stories, but also a motivation for us to open our eyes to what God has ordained in Holy History. I think it is not so much about being reformed or even continually reforming but to be transformed into something new. Both stories set into motions a series of events that ultimately give life in a new form, and a new way to experience God. They both are incidents in conflict with traditional approaches. They are about changing the rules of opinion and practice in families and in the practice of religion. Think about the story of the Prodigal and the elder son. The tension and drama are real. Likewise, in today’s lectionary stories, some new questions are posed. Jesus gives us some images to help us understand. So, meditate on the images of a new bridegroom, new clothes and new wine and contemplate, When Is A Good Time Not To Fast?
Scripture: Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore, he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25: 29-35 (NRSV)
When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.
Genesis 26:34-35 (NRSV)
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob. So he went in to his father, and said, “My father”; and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed. May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29 (NRSV)
Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak, for the patch pulls away from the cloak, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:14-17 (NRSV)
Message: Let’s face it, today’s scripture can be a bit controversial. Jesus did not conduct His ministry as the Pharisees thought He should. And Jacob was a trickster that we have trouble loving. Pursuing peace with everyone is a tall order. We need to assert our position, but I wonder if we are stealing someone’s birthright to a relationship when we exclude them. The challenge I think is having the right mind set in approaching this delicate situation. It is a renewing of the mind that we need to seek, being in the world, but not of it. Not conforming to the world’s expectations but being transformed. Certainly, for the Christian there is a time to be removed from the world, seeking holiness, and fasting, the Bible is clear on what that is, but as we mature, I think we need to embrace the world once again, not in its worldliness and ungodliness but as a place of redemption. That is what Jesus did. That is what we are to do too. Scripture does not command Christians to fast. God does not require or demand it of us. But at the same time, fasting can be good if not forced. Too often though, the focus of fasting is on the lack of food not about experience God in prayer. It is a matter of timing. Being too hungry can lead to poor outcomes, such as in the forfeiting of Esau’s birthright but also can wake us up as in the story of the prodigal. Generally, though the purpose of being a little hungry should be to take our eyes off the things of this world to focus completely on God and then return to the world to help others. I used to think of fasting as a religious exercise (or spiritual discipline) reserved only for the super-spiritual. I thought only the super-saints did this, and those who were really super-spiritual fasted for 40 days and 40 nights! Just the opposite is true. It is typically not the super-saints who fast in the Bible. It is often not super-spiritual. Of course, there are exceptions but on the whole, it is more common in scripture to see the super-sorrowful who fast, and often because they are super-sinners. Friends, fasting is often the response of the despondent and dependent. Here fasting may indeed be a way to demonstrate to God, and to us, that we are serious about our relationship with God. For sure fasting can be a tool to help us gain a new perspective and a renewed reliance upon God. But as today’s scripture makes clearer the point is to be transformed for a blessing. And if that blessing is already with us, as close as Jesus and the disciples, the point of the fasting has already been met and it is time to eat, drink and be merry.
And So, if you fast with a humble heart before the Lord, if you really recognize your need of God, then God will lift you up. And you will definitely be a better person for this kind of fasting. But if you fast just so you can feel good about your own spirituality, then God will humble you. God will bring you down several notches and show you that you are definitely not as good as you think you are. Maybe we would be closer to God if we prayed for the Lord to help us see the world as God sees it and break our hearts with the things that break God’s heart. Maybe, instead of fasting, we need to pray a prayer like that. Maybe we need to be saying to God, that we really do not feel sad or desperate about anything and that we know we probably should, but don’t. Friends, know that fasting is inextricably linked to mourning in the Bible. It is an expression of extreme sadness and dependence – not of extreme spirituality. In fact, it may be a bit pointless to fast when we are glad, happy, and content, or when things are going really well in our lives.
Pray we are not just reformed but transformed whether we are fasting or not. Pray our attention is on God. Pray we do not give in to the empty allure of immediate gratification but also pray we do not miss out on the wonders of life and its joys. Pray we value our inheritance as Christians. Pray that when we face injustice in a world of sin, we seek Jesus’ redemptive act in our life. Pray we extend grace and growing sanctification in our lives in the form of the peace of forgiveness to others so that they might experience something new. Pray we ask God to soften our callous hearts and bring a tear to our eyes that heals us. Pray that when our hearts are truly broken, we can fast, and our fasting will mean something. Pray we find comfort in such mourning and be blessed by it. Pray our cup overflows with the experience of God shared. Pray we hunger for a relationship with God that transforms.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 