So, of all the childhood games you played, what was your favorite?

“Simon says” was a good one I failed at miserably. Then there was “red light, green light”, “kick the can” and “hide and seek”. And then, especially for the younger ones, there was the classic, “follow the leader”.

And yes, we played outside. We played with all the kids on the block, on the front lawns, back lawns and in the street sometimes, with the Vickers, Kapsiacks, Niedermeyers, and even the next door neighbor Kelly Cook.  

“Follow the leader” was a pretty good game, because all you had to do was “follow the leader”, unless of course the leader was a moron and had you walking through puddles and thorn bushes, and rolling around in the leaf pile were the dead bird was. 

Sigh! Childhood was tough sometimes! 

But here’s some good news! Becoming a follower of Jesus is easy!

The disciples and all the other folk in the gospels give a really good picture of what it took and still takes to follow Jesus!

You go where Jesus goes!

You do what Jesus does!

And you listen really carefully to what Jesus is teaching!
To follow anyone or anything, of course, means you  have to take the first step which is to simply acknowledge that following is actually what you want to do. 

And for some of us, that is a struggle, because we have figured out that doing what Jesus did, and going where Jesus went, was following Jesus’ teachings can be costly.

I mean following Jesus meant you went to a wedding where Jesus made wine out of water. That’s pretty cool! But Jesus also went into the Temple and flipped over the tables of the moneychangers and chased them out with a whip.

I suspect some of you might be fine with that, because you are just special!

But listen up, he ate good food with good people, but he also ate food with what most people of his day would have thought of as less than the social elite.

He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, shepherds and fishermen, and yes, a few Pharisees and Scribes, but mostly more questionable folks! 

When was the last time you invited any of those folks to your back yard barbeque? Just saying!

And yet, and perhaps because of his amazing willingness to spend time with all kinds of people, his disciples followed him, learned from him, did as he did, and even more than that, loved him and each other!

And it appears that he and his followers also practiced some basic spiritual disciplines; that is practices that can grow our faith! 
Disciplines like fasting, praying, listening to God, embracing simplicity, unplugging, and even more.

Each of these spiritual disciples has a purpose; but the overarching theme is the invitation to focus your time and energy on your relationship with God and God’s kingdom, instead of filling your belly, or whatever is the equivalent for you.

One of those disciplines is fasting, that is not eating for a period of time.

The two different scripture lessons today talk first of all about Jesus fasting in preparation for his confrontation with Satan and the temptations.

That explains the devil’s invitation to break the physical fast by turning the stones into bread to quench Jesus physical hunger, while missing entirely the reason for the fast!

Fating is not about hunger, it’s about having the time and focus to prepare for and do ministry. 

Then Isaiah reminds Israel that any spiritual discipline can lose its meaning and function when we begin to believe the discipline in itself has value apart from the intended result!

Fasting, that is not eating or the giving up of something that would normally benefit us, and instead doing something for others is a blessing to them and for us! 

It is seen by God as the act of worship it is, the choice to take our focus off ourselves and instead focus on God’s kingdom, by caring for God’s people.
Now, I have friends who are fasting this week. 

Some are fasting from food on particular days, others are fasting from social media, some from TV, not even streaming. 

Some are fasting from store bought coffee and then choosing to give the savings to a food pantry, or to a charity to help in the Ukraine.

One person is fasting from being sarcastic, using the time usually spent busting people’s chops, by instead telling them what incredible friends and coworkers they are.

Fasting from meal prep, cooking, eating, and clean up for even one meal can result in a great deal of free time to sit and write a card to a friend who needs a boost, to call a neighbor or a family member and make amends, to volunteer time at the Food Pantry.  

Fasting can mean time to sit down and refocus some of your priorities that have gone off the mark. Giving up lunch might mean enough time to come help at the food pantry, or set up bags for the backpack program.

Fasting could mean you have the time to help your child learn about prayer. 

Following Jesus is easy, so stand up and let’s go!

Are you ready to follow the leader? 

If so, repeat after me, “Wherever you go Lord Jesus, we go”!

Amen!