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2026-02-15: Benefit from the Fast

Introduction

“From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness – besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28)

  • It feels like fasting doesn't belong in this list
  • Fasting is distinguished from hunger and thirst... hunger and thirst is involuntary. It's when he's traveling and has no food, or imprisoned and not given any water. But fasting is voluntary. It's an offering made to the Lord Jesus Christ willingly
What is Fasting?
  • Fasting is not:
    • Symbolic "giving up" of something (esp. Catholic)
    • Obligatory/customary "what is permitted" and "what is forbidden."
    • Scrupulous observance of dietary regulations
  • The Lord Jesus Christ, when He was fasting, was tempted by the devil to turn a stone into bread and eat. He responded with "Man shall not live by bread alone"
    • What does this mean?
    • What does it mean to live "by bread alone"
    • Actually, what does it mean to live? What is life?
  • The Lord Jesus Christ is Life
    • "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4)
    • "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25)
    • "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6)
    • "I am the Bread of Life" (John 6:48)
    • Food in itself has no life, but only by God does it give life to the body
  • Adam was given life
    • "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."
    • Death was not yet introduced into the world; Adam would have lived forever - not because he had life in himself, but because he was with God. Because he depended on God.
  • Adam decided instead of depending on God, he could depend on the fruit
    • The Liar tempted them telling them they could "be like God" - they could have Life in them. 
    • Instead of depending on God, he depended on the bread of the world
    • And death entered into the world - because the bread has no life in itself; and so when we depended on the daily bread and the bread of the world, we depended on something that had no life in it. 
    • The biggest lie that Satan told us is that "Man cannot live without bread"
  • Christ came to repair the damage Adam did
    • Adam fell in sin because he did not fast; The Lord Jesus comes and before starting His ministry, fasts 40 days without food; and overcomes Satan.
    • "When He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He became hungry." (Matthew 4:2)
  • Hunger
    • Hunger is the state where we realize that our dependence is on something else
    • It is when we urgently and essentially need food - which shows us that we do NOT have life in ourselves
    • It is when I make a decision to either:
      • Die of starvation
      • Satisfy my body and again have the impression of being alive
    • I face the ultimate question: On what does my life depend?
    • Fasting means to be hungry - to go to the limits of hunger and discover the whole truth - that man is not hungry for food, he is hungry for life. He is hungry for God. And that is a SPIRITUAL State, not a PHYSICAL state
    • And if the hunger for God is a SPIRITUAL STATE, then it needs a SPIRITUAL effort along with the physical effort
  • Prayer
    • Physical fasting is meaningless (and even dangerous) if it's disconnected from the spiritual effort - prayer and concentration on God.
  • So what is fasting for a Christian?
    • It is a way to recover our true spiritual nature by being HUNGRY
    • "A drastic reduction of food so that the permanent state of a certain hunger might live as a reminder of God and a constant effort to keep our mind on Him. Everyone who has practiced it knows that this ascetical fast rather than weakening us makes us light, concentrated, sober, joyful, pure." - Fr Alexander Schmemann (Great Lent)
    • The Christian Fast is the way that the Lord:
      • Makes us free - liberates us from our dependence on food, matter and the world
      • Makes us fruitful - fruits of repentance
      • Prepares us
Why Fast?

Expectation of Christ

  • "When  you fast" - Letendre

We fast to prepare

  • Before communion
  • Before Pascha, before Nativity, before Theophany
  • Preparation for the day of persecution

We fast to be free

  • Freedom from the passions (sinful habits, vices)

We fast to be fruitful

Spiritual Warfare

How to Fast?

"Four times a year the Church invites us to purify and liberate ourselves from the dominion of the flesh by the holy therapy of fasting, and each time the success of the therapy depends precisely on the application of certain basic rules." - Fr Alexander Schmemann (Great Lent)

  • Food Aspect (My relationship with myself)
    • Abstinence
    • Quantity
    • Quality

  • Spiritual Discipline Aspect (My relationship with God)
    • Prayers
    • Scripture
    • Worship
    • Readings
    • Prostrations

  • Attitude Aspect (My relationship with others)
    • Hangry
    • Irritation
    • Almsgiving
    • Service
Verses

"Consecrate a fast,
Call a sacred assembly;
Gather the elders
And all the inhabitants of the land
Into the house of the Lord your God,
And cry out to the Lord." (Joel 1:14)

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