Fasting

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is to discuss with the fourth graders why and how we fast, and for the students to understand its role in our church and in their spiritual lives. Fasting is one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines and, through it, the Holy Spirit can transform our lives and bring us closer to our Heavenly Father.

INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

At the beginning of the lesson, give each student a marshmallow or another treat. Tell the students that they can eat this marshmallow right now, or they can wait till the end of the lesson, and they will get a second one. Explain that this demonstrates the idea of denying something you want in the present in order to get something even better in the future.

Use this to transition to today's topic: Fasting When we fast, we prevent ourselves from eating things we want in order to grow closer to God

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

Memory Verse - "But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you do not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:17-18)

CONTENT (Key Points) - 10 Minutes

Elements of Fasting

Fasting involves restricting the types of food we eat and restricting eating hours.

  • Abstinence -- keeping yourself from something you enjoy. This also refers to completely refraining from food for a period of time, such as before Holy Communion.
  • Strict abstinence - Complete refraining from all types of food and drink between midnight and a certain time in the day, depending on each individual's strength and spiritual needs
    • Often until noon (the hour when Christ was placed on the Cross) or 3pm (the hour when Christ died on the Cross).
    • Strict abstinence is also expected to be kept on Great Friday between midnight and the end of the Great Friday prayers (usually around 6pm).
    • Strict abstinence is not allowed on Saturdays and Sundays due to the festive character of the Sabbath and Resurrectional observances respectively. Holy (Bright) Saturday is the only Saturday of the year where a strict fast is kept.

Fasting is not only about the food we eat, it is also about how we behave and think

  • Humility - choosing and accepting to feel hungry for the sake of God.
  • Focusing on how we can limit sin (lying, gossiping, etc.)

Controlling the food we eat helps us control other things as well, such as our words and actions.

How We Fast

When we fast in the Coptic Orthodox Church, our basic dietary intake is vegan. Some fasting periods will also allow fish and seafood.

This must be accompanied by prayer, repentance and focusing on our behavior.

Ask: "What are some things that we can abstain from?"

  • Too much TV, video games, types of food, bad language, etc.

When Do We Fast?

In our Church, we fast for 210 days per year

  • Wednesdays and Fridays - (no seafood)
    • Wednesday is when Judas betrayed Jesus and on Friday we remember our Lord's Crucifixion
    • Every week except in the Holy 50 days after Resurrection
  • Great Fast (Lent) - (no seafood)
    • Prepares us for Resurrection
    • Eight weeks (55 days) before Resurrection -- 40 days plus one preparation week, and Holy Week (Pascha)
  • Nativity (Advent) Fast -- (seafood permitted)
    • Prepares us for Jesus' birth
    • 40 days prior to Nativity + 3 days to commemorate the miracle of Moving the Mountain (Mokkatam)
  • Apostles Fast -- (seafood permitted)
    • Sharing our faith like the Apostles
    • Varies in length from 2-6 weeks. Begins on Monday after Pentecost and ends on the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul (July 12th)
  • Ninevah (Jonah's) Fast - (no seafood)
    • Reminder of Repentance, just like the Ninevites
    • Begins on a Monday, two weeks before the Monday that marks the beginning of Great Lent.
  • Fast of the Holy Virgin Mary - (seafood permitted)
    • Reminds us of the Assumption of St. Mary.
    • 15 days (August 7-August 22)
  • Eve of Nativity and Theophany (Paramoun) -- (no seafood)
    • Prepares us for the respective feasts
    • Length varies based on day of the week feast lands (1-3 days)

Additionally, believers may fast for personal reasons anytime throughout the year outside of these periods.

Why do we Fast?

  • PRIMARY REASON: Because we love God and want to build our relationship with Him
  • To train ourselves to "conquer the passions of the flesh." This means training our bodies and minds to seek God first before our bodily needs.
  • SELF CONTROL -- which helps us defeat the devil
  • We limit our food (feeding our body) in order to focus on feeding our spirits -- fasting is to be combined with PRAYER and reading the Bible
  • We can see many examples in the Bible of how fasting combined with prayer led to amazing results
    • Esther
    • Jonah and the Ninevites
    • Daniel and the youth
    • Our Lord in the Wilderness
    • The apostles, etc.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

  • Is fasting only about not eating certain foods?
  • Why should we fast?
  • Name some of the fasts of the Church.
  • Ask the students to come up with examples of fasting and its effects in both the Old and the New Testaments.

LIFE APPLICATION - 10 Minutes

  • Fasting is important for us to grow spiritually, and it is a good opportunity for us to grow in love with Christ and to be established in Him
  • With gradual and regular fasting we will learn self-control and earn inner peace.
  • The Church Fathers organized the fasting periods, so the Church members would fast in unity as the body of Jesus Christ.
  • Through fasting we win victory with Christ over the Devil.
  • Fasting is an opportunity to live with Christ, free from the needs and desires of the flesh.
  • Fasting is the time of repentance for everyone who loves Christ and wants to live with Him.
  • Fasting is accompanied by works of love and mercy.

We should limit certain things when we are fasting (Playing video games, watching TV, saying mean things to my brother or sister, not listening to my parents, complaining). Practice learning to say no to one thing a day (ex: no sweets, not playing our favorite game). Encourage your friends to fast and pray.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Church Fasts Chart

As a class or individually, create a chart of the church fasts. See example and template attached.

Give Up, Fill up

This activity will allow the students to shift their focus from what they are GIVING UP, to what God can do to FILL them up. Kids would get two cups: one that says "GIVE UP" and one that says "FILL UP." One cup represents the things that the students can fast from, in addition to the standard fasting procedures of the Church (TV, cell phone, sweets/junk food, etc.) and one cup would be something they could do to allow God to fill them up (Read a certain Scripture, memorize a verse, write a prayer, etc.). On strips of paper, have students draw or write different ideas that they can apply during fasts.

Similarly, students can create a "Do Less/Do More" poster as a class (same concept as above)

Song: Blessed are those who have Mercy -

Lyrics

SERVANT RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Have students meet with their father of confession to finalize their fasting plans and goals for Lent. Guide them in self-reflection: Am I listening to my parents? Am I treating others how I would want to be treated? Am I committing other sins through my words or actions? Pray for God to give you strength during the fasting period to defeat the devil when he brings us different thoughts.

LESSON ATTACHMENTS

Grade 4 Week 3 Table and Worksheet.pdf