Ember Day...what's that then?

According to the lectionary (which I'm trying to be a good boy and follow) tomorrow is an Ember Day. Ember Days are days of fasting and prayer which are placed at strategic points throughout the year. (The word 'ember' has nothing to do with fires or ashes - it links back to an Anglo-Saxon word meaing something like 'cycle' - but I won't bore you any further with that!)

Fasting is one of those traditions which we Christians don't do very well. However, I've been doing a bit of study on the subject of Islam (for my degree course) - and you might be interested to know that our Muslim brothers and sisters take fasting much more seriously, especially during the months of Ramadan. (Even those Muslims who don't pray five times a day will tend to observe the Ramadan fast). We of course have a tradition of the Lent fast - but for most of us that has become, if anything, a commitment to give up a luxury for a while. It becomes, for many, part of the weight-watching, healthy-living agenda - and has little to do with spirituality.

Within Islam (from which, I suggest, there are things we can learn even if we think their picture of Jesus is wrong) fasting has a number of supporting reasons...which help to give meaning to the whole business. For example,

i) Conscious discipline
Islamic tradition maintains that we need to live disciplined lives...not giving in to every sensuous whim that passes our way.

ii) Humanity needs more than bread
In much the same way that Jesus said (quoting Deuteronomy in Matthew 4) "man shall not live on bread alone but from every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" - Islamic tradition also maintains that we need to maintain and develop our awareness of God...of the divine spark of life within us. Yes, of course we need food - but we need God more. Fasting helps us to remember our dependence on God.

iii) Our body as servant not master
We must remember, argues Islam, that our bodies are the container and servant of our souls - our essential self. We must not let the body's natural desire for pleasure become so large as to do damage to our souls. Deliberate fasting is partly about asserting our souls' mastery over our body - and about saying that we value the spiritual and eternal over the phsical and temporary

iv) Training in patience and endurance
Islam, with its heavier emphasis on doing right/good, argues that patience and endurance are essential tools of living holy lives. We Christians have a similar tradition, but because we focus first on God's grace and forgiveness, and much less on pleasing God by our actions (for we believe there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation; it is a gift of God through Christ alone), we have perhaps forgotten how to grasp the need for such patient endurance.

Fasting, is of course an important part of the Christian tradition. Jesus did it, and so should we. Perhaps this glimpse into Islam's thinking on the subject might stimulate our own interest in rediscovering our heritage.

I hope it helps!