Daniel 6:10-16
The dietary fashion du jour seems to be juicing. It's right up there and not unlike cleansing juices and fasts. It seems interesting to me that somehow people have come up with the brilliant idea that there is value in fasting and that it might be associated with cleansing.
The ancients knew full well the value of fasting. Fasting is a practice in almost all major religions. Some are incredibly strict while other practices have been diluted over the years.
With regard to this section of scripture, it is noted in tangential passages that the king fasted all night as a means to support Daniel so he would not be eaten by the lions. It is noted so casually that this point might be dismissed. The value of fasting has always been known, I think that this passage may be highlighting that very point in addition to a few other very important messages. While perhaps not fully understood by the ancients or fully explained even now by religions and health gurus, it has great value. Fasting should not be dismissed as yet one more rule of a meaningless religion filled with countless other rules and rubrics.
Aside from our personal uniqueness and how we are all so incredibly loved by God as He created us, we are rather unique beings on the whole. We are bound by constraints of this world but yet we are called to a higher realm by our actions, by our souls and by our attachment to the Divine. We know instinctively there is more to this world than meets the eye. Jesus spoke of His kingdom which is not of this world. This is all wrapped up in mystery and lore because we do not fully understand it. I think when we die we will have what I often call the "great aha moment", that moment when what was unclear becomes clear, when we finally understand the enormity and intensity of the love God calls us to.
No matter who we are, our lives are a preparation for the next world, the transition not unlike a cocoon. Of all the ways to prepare, one of the tried and true ways is fasting. I am not an expert on fasting and I would always seek sound medical advice before I would embark on a regimen of fasting but I do know the value of this ancient practice. By depriving our self of something that we also clearly need in this world we take away a distraction which allows us the time and presence to become closer to the divine and our transition to the next life.We should not be on the verge of death, that's not the point. But just as 'fasting' from the noises of civilization in retreats and solitude help us contact the divine, so can fasting.
As a final note, I noticed something special when I was in the Dominican Republic doing mission work. Their eating habits were closer to the minimum needed for existence. This was apparent to me coming from the United States which is a land of plenty, perhaps even excess and gluttony. When I fast, I feel a kinship with my brothers and sisters in the DR and around the world who do not eat like we do in the US. The practice of fasting then also brings us in line with our global family. My Lenten soup suppers were touted as such and people were encouraged to take the money they would have spent (either at home or money spent at a restaurant) and give it to a worthy organization that supplies food to the local or global needy. It harkens back to that expression, 'live simply so others can simply live'.
The ancient practice of fasting, which has been abused, forgotten and hinted at by new fangled diets is of great value, it can help us focus on the our relationship with God and our higher calling.
Aside from our personal uniqueness and how we are all so incredibly loved by God as He created us, we are rather unique beings on the whole. We are bound by constraints of this world but yet we are called to a higher realm by our actions, by our souls and by our attachment to the Divine. We know instinctively there is more to this world than meets the eye. Jesus spoke of His kingdom which is not of this world. This is all wrapped up in mystery and lore because we do not fully understand it. I think when we die we will have what I often call the "great aha moment", that moment when what was unclear becomes clear, when we finally understand the enormity and intensity of the love God calls us to.
No matter who we are, our lives are a preparation for the next world, the transition not unlike a cocoon. Of all the ways to prepare, one of the tried and true ways is fasting. I am not an expert on fasting and I would always seek sound medical advice before I would embark on a regimen of fasting but I do know the value of this ancient practice. By depriving our self of something that we also clearly need in this world we take away a distraction which allows us the time and presence to become closer to the divine and our transition to the next life.We should not be on the verge of death, that's not the point. But just as 'fasting' from the noises of civilization in retreats and solitude help us contact the divine, so can fasting.
As a final note, I noticed something special when I was in the Dominican Republic doing mission work. Their eating habits were closer to the minimum needed for existence. This was apparent to me coming from the United States which is a land of plenty, perhaps even excess and gluttony. When I fast, I feel a kinship with my brothers and sisters in the DR and around the world who do not eat like we do in the US. The practice of fasting then also brings us in line with our global family. My Lenten soup suppers were touted as such and people were encouraged to take the money they would have spent (either at home or money spent at a restaurant) and give it to a worthy organization that supplies food to the local or global needy. It harkens back to that expression, 'live simply so others can simply live'.
The ancient practice of fasting, which has been abused, forgotten and hinted at by new fangled diets is of great value, it can help us focus on the our relationship with God and our higher calling.
Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open towards Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously. The conspirators came and found Daniel praying and seeking mercy before his God. Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, ‘O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?’ The king answered, ‘The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.’ Then they responded to the king, ‘Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.’
When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, ‘Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.’
Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!’
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