The last Sunday of Lent is also Palm Sunday. We will continue our theme of studying fasting according to Isaiah 58. As a recap, we have learned several key aspects of fasting:
1) Fasting is not all about us.
2) We fast to help the oppressed and resist injustice.
3) We fast to feed others.
4) We fast from negative words
5) We fast by observing the Sabbath.
Our final key aspect of fasting is to live selflessly.
Isaiah 58: 13 commands us to keep the Sabbath by living selflessly. More specifically, we should "honor it by not going my own way", "honor it by not doing as I please", and "honor it by not speaking idle words".
In a way, this last point ties the others together. In the midst of fasting, we have the Sabbath day, as a day of celebration, where we do not fast. Yet even in our celebration, we still are not to live selfishly, because just like fasting is not all about us, keeping the Sabbath is not all about us either.
When we choose not to do as we please or go our own way, we are able to do good to others on both fast days and feast days. For instance, if we fast from chocolate during the week, we can enjoy a bit of fair trade chocolate on the Sabbath as we stand against oppression and injustice in our purchases. Or if we celebrate the Sabbath with a restaurant-cooked meal, we can be sure to tip well so our server can also feed themselves. (Even if we order carry-out in the pandemic, living selflessly involves tipping those who are working in a pandemic for our convenience).
Furthermore, we choose our words with care on Sabbaths and workdays alike. We fast from negative and idle words during the week, so we are better able to choose encouraging words to speak on the Sabbath (and non-Sabbaths alike).
Our culture doesn't like being denied anything, whether it's internal (self-denial) or external (shortages or expensive). Our culture does not like discipline or suffering. It boggles the mind in our culture to deny ourselves food, luxuries, or well pretty much anything.
Yet, we, as Christians, follow Christ, the suffering servant. We follow a Savior who entered Jerusalem on this Palm Sunday, knowing that the cries of "hosanna" would become calls to crucify him. He knew He would suffer and die, before being raised from the dead, and Jesus did not shy away from the pain set before Him. As Hebrews 12:12 reminds us, Jesus endured the cross because of the joy set before Him. This ultimate example of selflessness is our example and our model.
And so we fast, in order to live more selflessly, so when we observe the Sabbath and feast, we still live differently from the world as the way we shop, give, and care for others lies in sharp contrast to the world's ways.
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