Embodied Solidarity Devotion
Below is a devotional I wrote for the Fast of Embodied Solidarity. Check them out on Facebook.
If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. -Matthew 5:29
When I was a child acting unruly, my dad would say, “cut it out,” while giving me a stern eye. I now find myself using the same phrase with my own children, complete with the gesture of running my pointer finger across my neck.
During Lent, our Christian tradition convicts us to give things up. Christians across the world examine what parts of their lives they need to cut out, or as the Scripture says, cut off. Some people cut out pleasurable activities or objects with hopes to grow a deeper faith. Others cut out something destructive in order to heal themselves or the world (nicotine, plastic bags, gasoline, losing one’s temper, Facebook).
The Embodied Solidarity Fast has convicted many to cut something out (usually food) as an act of solidarity, a call to action, and a reminder that complacency cannot be tolerated when facing injustice. Fasting, without a doubt, is an embodied act. With every pang of hunger, we are reminded of the pangs of those who are oppressed by fellow Christians drawing lines in the sand, building walls, and asserting a message inconsistent with the life of Christ. Our hunger reminds us of our faith connection to others experiencing hunger. The turning of our stomachs seeking food reminds us of our bodies, and how we can use these bodies to stand with others—not just in thought but in action.
When I was a child acting unruly, my dad would say, “cut it out,” while giving me a stern eye. I now find myself using the same phrase with my own children, complete with the gesture of running my pointer finger across my neck. During Lent, our Christian tradition convicts us to give things up. Christians across the world examine what parts of their lives they need to cut out, or as the Scripture says, cut off. Some people cut out pleasurable activities or objects with hopes to grow a deeper faith. Others cut out something destructive in order to heal themselves or the world (nicotine, plastic bags, gasoline, losing one’s temper, Facebook).
The Embodied Solidarity Fast has convicted many to cut something out (usually food) as an act of solidarity, a call to action, and a reminder that complacency cannot be tolerated when facing injustice. Fasting, without a doubt, is an embodied act. With every pang of hunger, we are reminded of the pangs of those who are oppressed by fellow Christians drawing lines in the sand, building walls, and asserting a message inconsistent with the life of Christ. Our hunger reminds us of our faith connection to others experiencing hunger. The turning of our stomachs seeking food reminds us of our bodies, and how we can use these bodies to stand with others—not just in thought but in action.
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