Scripture: Ephesians 4.22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Scripture: Luke 14.17-18
At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.” But they all alike began to make excuses.

Reflection: When We Fast from the Feast
By John Tillman

We already know how to fast. We have simply been fasting from the wrong things.

Our culture has steadily, for decades, been encouraging us to abstain from spiritual disciplines in favor of activities that we are led to believe are more profitable.

Our culture tells us that rather than read scripture in the mornings, we must pound through more emails. Productivity trumps biblical literacy.

We are told rather than praying at noon, we should skip lunch to work at our desk or take lunch with a valuable business contact. Productivity and self-promotion trumps prayerfulness and relational spirituality.

Rather than living simply and giving extravagantly, we reverse the equation, making our giving a simple percentage that satisfies a legalistic requirement or gains a tax benefit. Moral satisfaction trumps active compassion.

Rather than draw away from the world to worship in community with other believers, we draw away from others to worship with our headphones in—shutting the world out via podcast or streaming music and worship services.

When we have had just enough of God to make us feel more emotionally healthy and morally superior, we wish to move on to productivity, profit, and success. (All with the implied blessing of God of course.)

Many of us, when Christ has enabled us to overcome one or two sins that were an obvious nuisance, are inclined to feel (though we do not put it into words) that we are now good enough. He has done all we wanted him to do, and we should be obliged if he would now leave us alone. — C.S. Lewis

We’ve pushed our chairs back from the banquet table of God’s Word and placed our hand over our glass to prevent being refilled with the wine of his Holy Spirit.

God invites us to the feast of the kingdom. But many are fasting from God’s feast in order to binge on the benefits we can wring from the world.

May we return to the table and to the fellowship of believers with gusto, pushing aside distractions and false supplements that aren’t real spiritual food. As the voice of Christ cries through the prophet, Isaiah, “Why spend money on what is not bread?”

Spiritual disciplines of daily Bible reading, prayer, and meditation are not the spices and subtle flavorings of life—they are the main course. Everything else is sprinkles of garnish.

Prayer: The Request for Presence
Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them. Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings. — Psalm 17.7-8

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 10 (Listen – 3:34)
Ephesians 3 (Listen – 2:41)

This Weekend’s Readings
Proverbs 11 (Listen – 3:41) Ephesians 4 (Listen – 3:58)
Proverbs 12 (Listen – 3:07) Ephesians 5 (Listen – 3:42)

Scripture: Ephesians 2.1, 4-6
You were dead in your transgressions and sins… But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ…

Reflection: Easter Wings :: Throwback Thursday
By George Herbert – (1633)

Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,
Though foolishly he lost the same,
Decaying more and more,
Till he became
Most poore:
With thee
O let me rise
As larks, harmoniously,
And sing this day thy victories:
Then shall the fall further the flight in me.
My tender age in sorrow did begin:
And still with sicknesses and shame
Thou didst so punish sinne,
That I became
Most thinne.
With thee
Let me combine
And feel this day thy victory:
For, if I imp my wing on thine,
Affliction shall advance the flight in me.

Editor’s Note:
That our fall and affliction may further our flight is a part of the miracle of Easter. Not only Christ rose from the grave. We, with him, arose to newness and life.

George Herbert’s beautiful poem explores both the rhythmic shape of these thoughts in meter and their physical shape on the printed page.

May we become “thinne” that Christ’s fullness may shine more fully through us. We must decrease and he must increase. — John

Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for my hope has been in you. — Psalm 25.20

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 9 (Listen – 1:50)
Ephesians 2 (Listen – 3:04)

Scripture: Proverbs 8.10-11
Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Reflection: Fasting to Benefit Others
By John Tillman

How did the Israelites’ celebrations of fasting and feasting go from being a trumpeted memorial before God in Numbers 10, to being something God despised in Isaiah 1?

How can we keep our fasting and feasting from becoming meaningless rituals that make us feel good about ourselves but are despised by God?

In Isaiah, God describes the festivals that he hates as being meaningless because of the lack of carryover into the community. The Israelites were observing the traditional actions without acting out their meaning in their lives. Their devotion to God’s regulations was meaningless because they were refusing to act on their devotion to their fellow men.

When the poor, the disadvantaged, and the outcasts were ignored outside the sanctuary, God turned his face away, to ignore the pious rituals of the religious inside the sanctuary.

Specific actions of fasting and feasting aren’t as important as the motivations that begin it and the actions that follow it. It is what we do beyond the event that brings meaning to our feasting and our fasting. When Jesus was critiqued regarding fasting and feasting, he responded by saying, “wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

We need to enter fasting and feasting with the proper motivation—that of seeking God and doing his work. And we need to find a way to connect our fasting and our feasting to real life help for others.

When our fasting leads to a longing to serve and help others, and when our feasting celebrates and motivates us to participate in the work of Christ, our accompanying deeds will prove our spiritual wisdom. Through our churches, through charities we support, and individually, our wisdom can be proved right through our deeds.

No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great. — John Chrysostom

In this and other times of fasting or feasting, may we continually work to connect our observances to times of service and to the work of Christ’s church on behalf of others.

Prayer: The Greeting
I will offer you a freewill sacrifice and praise your Name, O Lord, for it is good. — Psalm 54.6

– Prayer from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Full prayer available online and in print.

Today’s Readings
Proverbs 8 (Listen – 3:26)
Ephesians 1 (Listen – 3:10)