Monday, December 2, 2013

Chapter I: Advent - The Advent Fast

Advent is finally upon us! And I’m again posting this a day late. I came down with the flu Saturday evening – perhaps just the normal flu or, as one of my friends pointed out, perhaps some exotic disease foisted on me by one of my students. Whatever it was, I seem to be on the mend and, after spending literally all day yesterday either in my shower or in my bed, I’m somewhat on my feet again (though I did call in sick this morning to work).

Advent has begun! And this, of course, means the Advent Fast has begun.

The Advent Fast, unlike the Lenten Fast, is not especially a time of repentance, though it will undoubtedly include that. It is a time of looking forward, a time of anticipation of the First Coming of our Lord. The goal of the Fast, then, is not specifically for penance but for clearing our minds and souls so that we can see how much we really desire His coming.


This year, a friend told me about his own Advent fast, and I asked if I could join him. We have decided to give up media consumption. In addition, I have decided to give up refined sugar.

The purpose of the first Advent sacrifice is to shift our perspective and clear our cluttered minds. When I’m bored, I tend to hop on the Internet and hang out on a forum, a news site, or Facebook in order to pass the time. Or I turn on one of my favourite soundtracks to lose myself for a few minutes. But that is the opposite of what we are supposed to be doing in this Season: we are *not* supposed to be killing time; we are supposed to become keenly aware of how much we wait and anticipate and yearn. Media has, for me anyway, become an anaesthetic for those feelings, so when my friend suggested the fast, I immediately knew it was a good sacrifice to make.

The second sacrifice, that of refined sugar, is one that reminds me that this is not a Season of celebration just yet. It also gently pulls me apart from my culture in which Xmas is begun shortly after Halloween, and Xmas and Christmas are mixed up in the minds of Secularists and Christians alike. No Xmas cookies or candy or cake or pie until 25 December.

This is a good place to talk about the rules of Christian fasting. As we’ve already discussed with all things related to the Calendar, fasting is not a work we do to please God but to learn more about Him. Whilst one of the goals is to break down our natural defences and do away with our favourite anaesthetics, the ultimate centre of a fast is never the one doing the fast but God Himself.

As such, fasts ought never to be a violation of the Law of Love. Scripture says that it is better to do one’s fasting in solitude so as not to draw attention to oneself. Offence ought never to be given on account of a fast. I think it possible to subtly and politely pass up the Christmas cookies at an office party, but if invited into a home and provided with a dessert, it is not appropriate to refuse if the refusal will bring offence.

That said, it is not inappropriate to politely decline with a brief explanation. If I refuse a piece of cake because I am on a diet, our culture is programmed to find this acceptable (this is because health and longevity are two of our idols). But if I refuse a piece of cake because I’m on a religious observance, our culture, even Christian culture, is programmed to think that one is being snobbish or legalistic. Oddly, this is almost uniquely true for Christians: Jews, Muslims, and even Mormons can get away with following their religious diets with no offense meant or taken, but a Christian who declines a piece of cake arouses instant suspicion.

If you choose to take on an Advent fast, I think it appropriate to offer a brief explanation to those who may understand. For those who will not, a simple, “I’m on a diet” may be the ticket out of an unneeded violation of the fast.

But in the end, the focus is not on what we have given up. Our focus for this fast is taking away the anaesthetic for boredom. For reminding us that we, as a Christian people, are a people waiting. During the Season, we wait for the First Coming. This wait is a reminder that we are also a people, during all Seasons, who wait for the Second coming.

We live in the great “Now and Not Yet”. If you choose to take an Advent Fast, it should be something specific to help you realise how much you actually do live in the Not Yet.

And this points back, as I said earlier, to God Himself. We yearn to be re-unified with Him, to live fully - intellectually, emotionally, and physically - in His presence. At first, this will mean Him becoming like us. But at last, this will mean us becoming like Him.

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