"BREAKING THE FAST"

Rev. Jim Petersen

1^st Congregational UCC-Great Falls, Montana   

3-02-08

Text: Matthew 9:14-17; John 3:14-21

Back in the days when we were the One (and only) Holy Catholic Church, Lent was observed as a time to fast.  Forty days of fasting, a physical cleansing in spiritual preparation for Easter.  Mind you, this was serious, as in fasting to the point of "runners look," with a slice of mortifi­cation of the flesh on the side.

Then along came the Reformation, where, among other things, we the "Protesters" weakened the apostolic traditions, including the practices of Lent.  In place of daily dietary deprivation duri­ng Lent, we began to "give up something for Lent."  But it was more, take your pick, any little ol' thing will do, give up candy, coffee, cake,  just one modest menu item was munificent.

You see, we Protestants turned to the Bible and not to the Pope for authority.  Regarding fasting we found our answer in Matthew, chapter nine, where the disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not?"(9:14)

Which was true, Jesus' disciples were not into the fasting fad of the Pharisees.  And Jesus did not enforce it.

Instead Jesus defends his disciples' discipline - or lack of discipline, answering the disciples of John the Baptist by saying, "Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to go without food?  Get real!  As long as the bridegro­om is with them it is party time!" (9:15 a)  In other words, now is a joyful time, as long as the Messiah is with you.  So don't wear those long, drawn faces.  Celebrate!  I mean, no less a pessimist than Friedreich Nietz­sche said, "Christians ought to look more re­deemed."  Nietzsche was saying, the "runners look" doesn't fit the good news, which ought to be good news to some of you.

Or as the noted UCC preacher, William Sloane Coffin, put it, "If only one-tenth of what Christians believe is true, they ought to be ten times more joyful."

To be honest, we Protestants missed the next line in Matthew, which reads, "But the day will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them.  Then they will fast." (15b)  Which is to say, there will come a time again, like Lent, when the party will be over and fasting will be appropriate.

Which, by the way, is the Catholic biblical authority for fasting. Apparently we Protestants didn't read far enough.  But, hey, when you are busy protesting you sometimes skip the fine print.

Alas today, on this Sunday, it does not matter. Catholic or Protestant, we are in agreement.  For today is the Fourth (and therefore middle) Sunday of Lent.  We are half-way through the season of Lent where the 4^th Sunday is called, for those of you who have forgotten your Catechism, "Refreshment Sunday­."

On this Sunday, even if you come from a fasting tradition, you may break the fast, that is, you may enjoy a "break- fast," if you will.  Huckleberry pancakes, ham & eggs, whatever.  The tradition of the church was to serve fruitcakes for breakfast to the congre­gation on the Fourth Sunday in Lent as a way of celebrating the mid-point of the Lenten journey, as well as clearing out all those cakes that were left over from Christmas and missed at Mardis Gras.

"Refreshment Sunday," a momentary reprieve from the lean Lenten cuisine of the season.  One could count on some calories on the fourth Sunday of Lent.   I suspect it also encouraged church atten­dance. We have delicious breads for sale this morning, along with our youth group's "sandwiches for the soul­," served with organically grown fair trade coffee and cookies, a­nd for those of you who have ordered plump pasti­es for picku­p.  It's party time.  Join us.  "Break-fast Sunday."

The traditional Gospel lesson for this Sunday is also wonderful.  We break from the usual Lenten lectionary of critical self-examination and cross-bearing and hear the uplifting words of John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that God gave the only begotten Son that whosoever believes in the Son should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that throu­gh the Son the world might be saved."

A perfect text for "Refreshment Sunday," don't you think?  The most quotable of all the gospel texts, and a verse head protester, Martin Luther, called "the Gospel in minia­ture."

A verse to remind us halfway through Lent what the Christian faith is all about, lest our memories fail us midway through our weary walk in the wilderness.  John 3:16 reminds us the focus of our Christian faith is not:  what we have done, or have not done, how we have filled the fast or failed the test, but...on what God has already done for us.

During this long Lenten season of self-reflection and personal penitenc­e, it is good to remind ourselves, say, half-way through; the Chris­tian faith is not about me.  It is about God.

The Christian faith is not about my sins, it is about God's grace.  This we know, "For God so loved the world..."

Now, you and I are sinners.  We need to know this.  We are not getting away with anything here.  But we also need to know Jesus did not come to reveal our sins, singularly.  This is not the good news of the Christian faith.  I mean, let's be honest, we knew we were sinners before Jesus ever got here.

The good news is not Christ came to remind us of our sins.  The good news is Christ came to redeem us from our sins.  "Redemption," a Greek word right off our Lenten vocabulary list, which means, "to free from prison."

Christ came not to paste our past upon us and make us pay, but to free us from our past and lead us to new life.  For the intention is not to feel bad about ourselves, but to feel good about God; not to feel guilty for the life we had, but to feel grateful for the new live we have.

This is why we have John 3:16. It summarizes the Gospel message. We mention it here in the middle of Lent just to make sure we aren't getting morbidly attached to our penitence. We need to do some spiritual deep knee bends, to be sure, but we don't need to get stuck in the  squat position.

John 3:16 states the Gospel in a formula that even the dullest among­ us can memorize and take with us wherever we go: "For God so loved the world that God gave the only begotten Son that whoever believ­es in the Son should not perish, but have eternal life."

This is the Gospel message.  This is what we believe. "For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world (are we listening?), but that through the Son the world might be saved."  Alleluia!

We believe God sent Jesus into the world to free us from our past and to offer us a wonderful future, that we might live the kind of life God created us for.   How "refreshing!"  Please, enjoy your "break-fast."

Lest we get off fat free, it is always well to press to the end of the gospel text, where John tells us, "Whoever does what is true comes to the light..."(2­1)  In other words, it is not enough to simply know the truth, that "God sent the Son that we might have eternal life," to feast at the table and grow fat with this bless­ed assurance, but we must do the truth, to shove ourselves away from the table and share this good news in word and deed with others.

In other words, it is not enough to selfishly soak up the Son's sacrifice, but we have to turn around and sweat for others. The feast is not a feast unless it is shared with all.

Well, what could be more Christian?  Appreciate this was in sharp contrast to the Greek concept of Gnostici­sm which was challenging the early church at the time of John's writing.  For the Gnostic, religion was something to be held in private.  It was a secret, not to be shared.  For them religion was for the purpose of pleasing oneself and escaping daily life and worldly responsibility, if you can believe anyone using religion this way?

The followers of Christ did not.  They believed there was a relationship between their religion and their daily deeds.  Our faith was not something we hid in private, but something we displayed in public. 

So that: if we say we love God but don't love people, then we've got it wrong.  We don't love the God in Jesus Christ.  If we say we follow Christ, but don't feed God's children, then we've got it wrong.  We don't love the God in Jesus Christ.  If we say we are of the Spirit, but don't pray for peace and promote justice on earth, then we've got it wrong.  We don't love the God in Jesus Christ.   

You see, the Gnostics thought religion was a means by which to escape this world.  Curiously, the Christians, who already had the assurance of safe passage to the next world, exercised their religion as a compelling force to trans­form this world into a better world, ie, a place more reflective of God's Kingdom and kinder to God's children.

Well, you know this.  And so do I.  It's just good for us to be reminded halfway through Lent.  To remember what Christianity is all about.

Christianity is about hearing the refreshingly good news of John 3:16, that "God so loved the world that God gave us God's only begotten Son."

And Christianity is about sharing. It is about One Great Hour of Sharing, and other acts of caring in the name of Christ, which makes this Lenten walk a true preparation for Easter.  May we keep the pace, even as we pause to "refresh" ourselves this Sunday. Thanks for being here. 

AMEN