Fasting for Lent in Turkey
There are just two more days to go in my first Lenten fast ever. I grew up in a church that didn't even talk about giving something up for Lent. I knew that some of my Catholic friends in school did it, but that wasn't much of a motivation for me back then. These days I think that there are lots of traditions that evangelicals would do well to rediscover... especially in the context of ministry in Turkey.
Muslim friends here often ask if Christians fast, assuming that Christianity is a religion without much substance. When I have a chance to have a very long discussion I can describe the idea of fasting as a voluntary sacrifice, an act of worship, and a kind of prayer we do with our bodies, but I think the idea of fasting during Lent is a great context for sharing the gospel with Muslims. So this year I put my idea to the test and decided to give up sweets for 40 days. This meant no cookies, cake, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, baklava, etc... it was harder than I thought it would be, but the opportunities it opened and the impact it had on my Muslim friends were also more profound than I expected.
I had dozens of occasions to explain about the nature of fasting in Christianity as people noticed I wasn't joining them for dessert or eating the sweet things served to guests almost every day. At our worship service in town I was able to share with local believers about this fast as well, and some people even joined me for part of the 40 days. Seekers that I have been regularly sharing with had lots of questions about my decision to fast. They were impacted by the fact that believers have been doing this kind of fasting for a very long time, that it is a way of identifying with Jesus, his temptation by Satan and his suffering, as a way of setting the stage for the celebration of the Ressurection.
Muslims fast for about 30 days during the entire month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset. They are forbidden to eat, drink, or smoke anything during this time. At sunset every day they break their fast and begin again at sunrise on the next day. My Muslim friends were impacted by the fact that my fast would last 40 days and that there would be no break at sunset. Of course I wasn't abstaining from all food or drink, but they were impacted by the fact that I intentionally chose something that would be hard for me to give up.
There are also voluntary seasons of fasting in Islam, so there is a category for this kind of fast, but most Muslims don't participate in those fasts. People who do participate in them are considered particularly "spiritual" or committed. That turned out to be another great reason for Christians to fast during Lent, since it communicates a kind of commitment to God that Muslims can particularly admire.
Two nights ago I was visiting the house of a friend with whom I have been sharing the gospel for several months. His entire family was there as well as two neighbors. The men sat in the living room drinking tea and watching a football (soccer) match. Eventually plates were served to each of us with cookies and sugary wafers on them. I stared at the plate for a while wondering whether it would be better for me just to eat the cookies to avoid offending my hosts whom I was meeting for the first time, but one of the young men in the room who already knew about my fast came to my rescue and explained that I was fasting. He used a particularly religious word to describe it (niyetli) meaning that I had made a commitment to God not to eat. At that point I had to describe why I was fasting and that led to a wonderful conversation about the gospel. One of the neighbors, who had just made a very sarcastic comment about Christians, spent the next 10 minutes apologizing profusely for his insensitivity.
I haven't thought about what I'll give up next year, but I'm looking forward to some baklava on Easter Sunday...
Muslim friends here often ask if Christians fast, assuming that Christianity is a religion without much substance. When I have a chance to have a very long discussion I can describe the idea of fasting as a voluntary sacrifice, an act of worship, and a kind of prayer we do with our bodies, but I think the idea of fasting during Lent is a great context for sharing the gospel with Muslims. So this year I put my idea to the test and decided to give up sweets for 40 days. This meant no cookies, cake, chocolate, candy, ice-cream, baklava, etc... it was harder than I thought it would be, but the opportunities it opened and the impact it had on my Muslim friends were also more profound than I expected.
I had dozens of occasions to explain about the nature of fasting in Christianity as people noticed I wasn't joining them for dessert or eating the sweet things served to guests almost every day. At our worship service in town I was able to share with local believers about this fast as well, and some people even joined me for part of the 40 days. Seekers that I have been regularly sharing with had lots of questions about my decision to fast. They were impacted by the fact that believers have been doing this kind of fasting for a very long time, that it is a way of identifying with Jesus, his temptation by Satan and his suffering, as a way of setting the stage for the celebration of the Ressurection.
Muslims fast for about 30 days during the entire month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset. They are forbidden to eat, drink, or smoke anything during this time. At sunset every day they break their fast and begin again at sunrise on the next day. My Muslim friends were impacted by the fact that my fast would last 40 days and that there would be no break at sunset. Of course I wasn't abstaining from all food or drink, but they were impacted by the fact that I intentionally chose something that would be hard for me to give up.
There are also voluntary seasons of fasting in Islam, so there is a category for this kind of fast, but most Muslims don't participate in those fasts. People who do participate in them are considered particularly "spiritual" or committed. That turned out to be another great reason for Christians to fast during Lent, since it communicates a kind of commitment to God that Muslims can particularly admire.
Two nights ago I was visiting the house of a friend with whom I have been sharing the gospel for several months. His entire family was there as well as two neighbors. The men sat in the living room drinking tea and watching a football (soccer) match. Eventually plates were served to each of us with cookies and sugary wafers on them. I stared at the plate for a while wondering whether it would be better for me just to eat the cookies to avoid offending my hosts whom I was meeting for the first time, but one of the young men in the room who already knew about my fast came to my rescue and explained that I was fasting. He used a particularly religious word to describe it (niyetli) meaning that I had made a commitment to God not to eat. At that point I had to describe why I was fasting and that led to a wonderful conversation about the gospel. One of the neighbors, who had just made a very sarcastic comment about Christians, spent the next 10 minutes apologizing profusely for his insensitivity.
I haven't thought about what I'll give up next year, but I'm looking forward to some baklava on Easter Sunday...
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