Fasting with a feasting attitude

Recently I was in a small lectio group that explored a short passage in Luke 5. In the course of the conversation it came up that often we put fasting and feasting on opposite ends of a spectrum. After further reflection we pondered if this is a false dichotomy. We wondered if fasting and feasting are just two postures of the same coin. 

If we look at fasting as a posture and not just an activity of abstaining from food, then the posture of fasting is one of somberness, seriousness and reverence. Likewise, if feasting was a posture it might be the posture of joyfulness, celebration, and lightheartedness. 

There are times that we need to take the posture of fasting and there are other times where the posture of feasting is called for. In our churches it seems like there are very strong pressures on people to conform to a specific posture to the detriment of the other posture. 

For instance, there is a strong posture of fasting when it comes to communion. This sacrament is seen as a very serious thing. There is no joking around. Those who are laughing or running or being even the slightest bit silly are out of line. The posture of fasting is appropriate for communion but it is not the only appropriate posture for communion. 

The posture of feasting is also appropriate at communion. Some churches call the minister the "celebrant" (see this post about presiding vs. celebrating) . We talk about the "feast at the Lord's table". We should take joy in the forgiveness and reconciliation that comes at the table of the the Lord. The posture of feasting is also appropriate for communion, but it is often a posture that is not embraced by the whole (just read some of the comments in this post). 

Could it be that we have the capacity to embody both postures at the same time? Could we be serious and at the same time recognize the joy of in situation? Can we be celebratory and reverent at the same time? Can we fast with a feasting attitude and could we feast with a fasting attitude? 

Or is it just one or the other? 

Reading Be the Change saves lives - really.

Back in 2013 I shared about CentUp, and how it was a way to practice generosity with, literally, cents. 

And today, on my 32nd birthday, I am pleased to announce that Be the Change has been approved as a publisher for CentUp!

Look for this button at the bottom of posts across the interwebs!

This means that if you see a post that you like, you can push the "centup" button at the bottom of the post and share some of your pennies. (In order to do this you will have to set up an account with centup but that takes 2.5 minutes. PLUS if you see the centup button anywhere else on the web, like on the Second City Comedy Network, you can donate to that content as well!)

This little button allows people who make the content that you read, watch, and enjoy to keep making the content without having to put ads up all over the place. Plus you can use your "cents" to vote up content as well. There is nothing like telling a content creators, "hey make more of stuff like this!" when you throw a quarter their way. 

So, how does all this save lives? 

When you donate to Be the Change, 1/2 of all donations go directly to Love 146. 

The Mission and VIsion of Love 146 is: "The abolition of child trafficking and exploitation. Nothing less."

And so, I deeply encourage you to create a Centup account, share the love with content producers around the internet, practice generosity, and help save lives. 

What colonoscopies can teach us about hospitality

I have never had a colonoscopy but I hear they are not something that many people look forward to undergoing. Maybe this is why we may not look to colonoscopies when thinking about hospitality, but the now infamous 1996 study might make us rethink our assumption. 

Quickly from the wikipedia entry, here is the study:

Colonoscopy patients were randomly divided into two groups. One underwent a colonoscopy procedure wherein the scope was left in for three extra minutes, but not moved, creating a sensation that was uncomfortable, but not painful. The other group underwent a typical colonoscopy procedure. Kahneman et al. found that, when asked to retrospectively evaluate their experiences, patients who underwent the longer procedure rated their experience as less unpleasant than patients who underwent the typical procedure. Moreover, the patients in the prolonged discomfort group were far more likely to return for subsequent procedures because a less painful end led them to evaluate the procedure more positively than those who faced a shorter procedure.

This is one example to show how it is the endings of an event that impact the way we remember the event. If the ending was bad, the remembered event was bad. If the ending was good, the remembered event was good. 

In the Church there is a lot of emphasis on the first impression we make to guests. This is why we try to have well kept landscaping and facilities, clearly marked parking and signage, greeters at the door, free coffee and doughnuts, a "glad you were with us for the first time" gift, etc. While these first impressions matter, so does the last impression.

To my preacher friends, I would submit that all the work that is done to find the "right opening hook" to a sermon, perhaps we need to spend time on the "right ending". It may very well shape what is remembered.