415. Mercy Triumphs
We humans love rules. Because they make sense, and they give clarity of what we need to do. So, when we start corporate disciplines like “Daniel Fast”, rules often become too important that we fail to recognize “why’ we do this.
What we can eat and what we cannot eat during the fast is a secondary issue. The primary issue is whether the fast brings us closer to God and helps us to experience freedom. So, for example, becoming too detailed and fixated on the presence or amount of sugar in food makes the secondary issue primary.
It is the same in media fasting. The goal is not to completely cut out media entirely, but to carve out time to read the Bible. So I’m planning to watch some YouTube while doing my cardio (as it feels too mundane and reading is difficult during that time), but limit it to videos of Christian teaching or intellectual conversations on moral and spiritual issues, which I saved before but did not watch. At other times, I won’t be consuming any media.
There is a famous story of St. Francis of Assisi, who is known for demonstrating humility and sacrifice through actions, not just words.
One time, St. Francis came to do a 40-day fasting prayer with his disciples. However, one of the disciples said to the teacher. “Teacher, just fasting is too easy, so to make our love for the Lord more firm, how about we make ‘porridge’ and place it in front of us while we pray?” In the end, they made ‘porridge’ every day, placed it in front of the fasting spot, and prayed while overcoming the scent of that food. It was about 20 days later. One disciple ended up taking a spoonful of the porridge and eating it. The disciples all turned to that disciple with angry faces. And though no one said anything, they turned their faces toward Francis, wondering how the teacher would react. But suddenly, St. Francis took the porridge before him and drank it all down. The disciples were shocked, wondering what just happened. While they were looking at each other with puzzled eyes, Francis responded like this: “If we cannot cover a brother’s fault, what glory of God can come from such a fast? It is better to eat porridge and be at peace with each other.”
The story demonstrates what it looks like to practice being connected to the primary issue in our lives, especially in spiritual disciplines. The purpose of every spiritual discipline is freedom, the freedom to love. When we become less merciful but more judgemental through the fast because of violation of secondary issues, we are violating the primary issue. As the scripture says, “mercy triumphs over judgement.” (James 2:13). Though we should try our best to follow the guideline (to actually “fast” from something), we should also continually remind ourselves “why” we do the fast: to love mercy, faithfulness, and kindness. (Micah 6:8)
