Prayer Vigil for
Peace in the Middle East

Bishop H. George Anderson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in a letter dated November 14, 2000 to all of the Synodical Bishops of the ELCA, called the synods and congregations of the ELCA to respond to the ELCA Church Council’s resolution, made at its November 2000 meeting, for "coordinated days of prayer and fasting for an end to the violence in Israel and Palestine."

At its roots, fasting is a spiritual discipline of abstaining from nourishment either partially or completely for a set period of time. Although Christians have historically fasted from time to time, it is a common spiritual discipline in most religions: Jewish fasts include Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, a day of penitence and purification; the Muslims fast during Ramadan; and fasting is also important in Shinto, Taoism, Confucianism Jainism, and Hinduism, for example. Although Buddhism stresses moderation in eating rather than fasting, Buddhists in some countries, notably Tibet, observe certain fasts. There is a colorful variety of styles of fasting. During the month-long fast of Ramadan, the Muslims will fast until after the sun has set. The Jews will neither eat or drink during Yom Kippur. In the Christian faith, fasts can mean abstaining from "red meats" or all dairy, egg, oil, and meat products, or all solid foods.

Jesus said, "But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who sees in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you," Matthew 6:17-18. Jesus taught and expected his followers to fast as a spiritual discipline which is important only between God and the one who fasts. If out of an attitude of pride we tell others of our fast, so as to impress them with our devotion to God, we have lost our focus on God and the impact of the fast goes with it. Fasting is a spiritual discipline between the individual who fasts and God!

Martin Luther preached about fasting in a sermon based on Matthew 4:1ff, saying "Of fasting I say this: it is right to fast frequently in order to subdue and control the body. For when the stomach is full, the body does not serve for preaching, for praying, for studying, or for doing anything else that is good. Under such circumstances God’s Word cannot remain. But one should not fast with a view to meriting something by it as by a good work," What Luther Says, St. Louis: Concordia Publ. House, Vol.1, 1959, p. 506.

"Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live,’" Luke 10:25-28.

"The tempter came and said to him (Jesus), ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God,’" Matthew 4:3-4.

The basic Christian understanding of life is summed up in the answer of the lawyer who quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures (Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18), that we were created to live in a relationship with God and the whole of creation. When any of us lose sight of that purpose for our life, we experience problems. Fasting, like worship, can assist us in rediscovering God’s intended perspective for our life. It helps to break us out of our self-centered world. When we stop satisfying our every craving and desire, we can more easily open ourselves to God and to the needs of others.

"If fasting is doing its work of liberating our focus from self-preoccupation, this will manifest itself in mercy and compassion toward those around us. We will be moved from within to give what we are receiving from God...Our lives will be marked by concrete caring responses for others. Fasting must deal with reality. It does not skirt issues. It is not an interior escape. The fast God has chosen prepares us within in such a way that we can be used to bring about change in outward circumstances. Inner liberation spills over into outward acts of caring. Fasting is directly related to social responsibility," Thomas Ryan, Fasting Rediscovered, New York, Paulist Press, 1981, p. 119.

"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?" Isaiah 58:6-7.

It is as we turn away from a focus on ourselves and redirect ourselves to God and others, that we rediscover the meaning for our life. Fasting is one of the historic spiritual disciplines that enables this to happen. When the lawyer in the Luke 10 text asked Jesus about eternal life and he reiterated the two great commandments, Jesus answered his follow-up question on who his neighbor is by telling the parable of the good Samaritan. In contrast to the two religious leaders in this parable, it is the injured man’s natural enemy who demonstrates a God-centered life. This person is the good Samaritan, the one who stops, has compassion on the wounded, and takes action to assist him, even though he was his natural-born enemy.

In the ELCA Church Council’s resolution calling for prayer and fasting for an end to the violence in Israel and Palestine, it begins by lifting up this chaos into God’s presence seeking God’s peace and justice. As we pray and fast for this situation in our world, we deepen our relationship with God and our sisters and brothers in Israel and Palestine. Through this action, we participate in a real sense in this crisis. Out of the openness of our hearts, only God knows how we and/or our congregations will be prompted to respond like the good Samaritan.

There are two closely related thoughts on the best practices for fasting. Let me share both options:

"Option A: The best, most effective, and safest way to fast is water fasting. Simple enough? Cool water, warm water, Perrier water, distilled water, tap water, water in an elegant goblet to make it look like the elixir of life that it is. Artificially colored, flavored, and sweetened drinks recall the memory of food to our tastebud and arouse distracting hunger, and at the same time inhibit the purifying process that is going on in the digestive system," ibid., Ryan, p. 90.

"Option B: The best, most effective and safest way to fast is juice-fasting. According to Dr. Buchinger, fasting on fresh raw juices of fruits and vegetables, plus vegetable broths and herb teas results in much faster recovery from disease and more effective cleansing and rejuvenation of the tissues than does the traditional water fast," ibid., Ryan, p. 91.

Although the letter from Bishop Anderson suggests a particular day be set aside as the day each month for prayer and fasting for each state, this does not imply that you are limited to only a one day fast! If you are choosing to fast more than one day, if you have not fasted before, please be aware of the experience of many:

a one day, twenty-four hour or less fast is relatively easy to accomplish. You may want to eat a good, nutritious meal on the evening before your fast. Avoid alcohol on the day prior. If you are addicted to caffeine, you may experience headaches as you fast as a result of your caffeine withdrawal.

from 24-36 hours into a fast, can be the most difficult hours of a 3-7 day fast. The body will be calling for food. If you are relatively healthy, such a fast is not hurting your body. In fact, you are cleansing it and allowing a great portion of energy that normally goes into the digestion of food to get redirected at bringing healing to parts of your body that require attention. Your body temperature may drop slightly due to a lack of oil/fat in the system and you may feel cold. You may notice this in your nose or hands. Consider putting on a sweater or a long-sleeve shirt or dress. Your mind may play tricks on you telling you that you need to eat. This is not true. The decision whether you break your fast or not is yours. However, the focus of this fast is on prayer for Israel and Palestine. Redirect your attention there as often as you need to. After 36 hours, the fast should get easier and a deeper sense of God’s presence can be anticipated as you seek to be attentive to God.

1) The meal time you have offered is a great time to set aside for your prayers. Do not give in to the temptation to get more work done during your meal times. Keep it sacred for prayer.

2) Download the information available from the ELCA’s Division for Global Mission on Palestine and Israel, so that you can be more informed for your prayers. Also, some prayers have been written for your use.

3) Locate a picture, a map of the area, a flag, or some other visual that you can keep with you to remind you to pray for Palestine and Israel.

4) When praying, begin by reading a Psalm like Ps. 63; 71; 91; 102, etc., get your body comfortable so that your mind and spirit can focus on God; take some deep breathes, exhaling your issues, and inhaling God’s life-giving Spirit; listen in silence to what God may bring to mind as you reflect on the scripture you read or on the people of Palestine or Israel; after a time of listening prayer, begin to offer your petitions for these two peoples.

"Gandhi once said that perhaps more caution and more restraint are necessary in breaking a fast than keeping it...Eating too much food too fast can lead to digestive upset and general disorder.

Some things to keep in mind:

For three days of fasting, include one day as a transition day. After a two-day fast, figure on two transitional meals; after a one-day fast, one transitional meal. Transitional meals consist of natural foods void of overly processed ingredients such as white sugar, white flour, and preservatives, e.g., a piece of fruit and / fresh vegetable soup with juice or herb tea (a fresh vegetable salad works well to cleanse the system too).

Depending on how long your fast has been, wait a corresponding amount of time before getting into foodstuffs like meat, milk, cheese, butter, fish, nuts and seeds. Do not eat any more than you desire...Avoid turning around and overburdening your digestive system just after giving it a rest," ibid., Ryan, p. 98.

"When the flesh is satisfied it is hard to pray with cheerfulness or to devote oneself to a life of service which calls for much self-renunciation," Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, New York: Macmillan Publ. Co., 1949, p. 189.

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