The Signs of Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving

Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving are the key practices of Lent. These themes are reflected in the Gospel of St. John. Although these are not directly outlined in John’s Gospel as teachings, they point to examples that highlight Jesus’ example for us. For examples of prayer in John’s Gospel, look to Jesus driving the money changers out of the Temple, signaling the need for purity in one’s own inner temple, and consider John 17, where Jesus prays to God the Father in His high priestly prayer. For fasting, consider Jesus’ abstinence from power and how His actions demonstrated humility of character, and for almsgiving, even Jesus’ miracles pointed to a greater charity, with the turning of water into wine fulfilling the need of the nuptials at Cana. 

Prayer – Let us take a moment to reflect on John’s portrayal of Jesus in prayer. The Gospel written by John, the Beloved Disciple, does not give the Our Father as the Synoptic Gospels do. Jesus does not teach the Disciples a formula for prayer, nor does He forbid personal prayer or worship. What Jesus does in John’s Gospel is offer us a deep intimacy in our prayer with God. Let us read the example of John 17, where Jesus calls out to God intimately, and longs to have the same intimacy with the Father that He had before the World began. Imagine how close Jesus felt to His Divine Father, even entrusting all the souls He had gained for Him, and calling upon them to be “one.”

How much more so do we consider our prayer when we remember John’s Prologue, in which he recounts that “in the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He came to His own people, but they accepted Him not. And from there on, “light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). How beautiful this is! Our prayer life with God, meant to be both sacred and personal between us, is not just to recite established prayers or a formula. Prayer is meant to be our union with God. It’s that simple. Logos, or word, means more than the spoken word. It means intent or meaning. Jesus was the Father’s intention from the beginning of time. We are one with Him in faith. 

Consider the testimony of John the Baptist. He came baptizing and preaching a time of repentance. He promised that “one greater than he” was coming, whom he was not worthy to remove the strap of His sandal (John 1:27). Later, Jesus told the people who followed Him that John was “a burning lamp.”

It was John who called Jesus the “lamb of God,” and at his declaration, two of his disciples started to follow Him. They followed Jesus at the tenth hour of the day, or 4:00 in the afternoon. When they came to Jesus, he asked them what they were seeking. The two asked Him where he was staying. He replied simply,” Come and see” (John 1:39). We, like the first disciples, are invited to do the same. We “come and see” all that God is doing in our lives. Look around you. You are called, and you are chosen. You have a particular vocation in life, as all people do. How will you respond? In John’s Gospel, Andrew is one of the first two disciples called. He goes and finds Simon Peter. Simon Peter is therefore called, then Philip, and next Nathaniel. As these disciples answered the call of Christ, so are we invited to answer positively.

John 3 tells the story of Nicodemus, the one who came to Jesus at night. He chose to find Jesus after the daytime hours. He was a member of the Sanhedrin and knew Jesus was blessed by God because of the signs He worked. Jesus told him that one would have to be “born from above” to be saved. When Nicodemus questions Him on this, Jesus responds that he should not be surprised as “a teacher of Israel.” “Just as the wind blows, and you do not know where it came from or where it goes, so it is with anyone born of the Spirit” (John 3.8). That same challenge and invitation is given to you. Do you come to Jesus in secret, only by the cover of darkness to avoid public confession, or do you live as one who is “born from above?” 

Remember too that our prayer is not something merely gray in the gloom. We pray to join that everlasting light that is calling out to us, loving us, forming us, and making us whole. This is our divine life in prayer, when we choose to turn to Jesus again.

Fasting

In John 2, we encounter the miracle of the Wedding at Cana. This is the event of the first “sign” that Jesus works. He is the one who will supply what the married couple will need. And yet, Jesus is hesitant. The wine runs out, and He chooses not to intervene. Mary tells Jesus about this problem, as if to gently nudge Him to act. He calls her “woman,” a term of honor in Aramaic, and asks what that has to do with Him. She then goes to the servers and says, “Do whatever he tells you.” Jesus tells them to fill six earthen jars with water. The head server took the water to the groom, and it was wine, the best that they had tasted so far.

See here that Jesus was not fasting when He came to the celebration. What then does this have to do with Lent? To fast means many different things. You have your discipline of giving up something for Lent. It also means a fast of the will. Sometimes, this means doing something you don’t want to do, even something so little. In the monastic community, we all have chores and jobs that we do. Little tasks are given that, bit by bit, are like being stoned to death by popcorn. To sacrifice one’s will for others is harder with tedious things than with dramatic sacrifices that you only make once. Giving up little things, including helping others when we aren’t ready and willing, can become the water that is turned to wine, the medium through which Jesus communicates His marvelous message.

Turn to John, Chapter Four. Jesus goes out to a Samaritan village in the heat of the day. He seems unsurprised to run into a Samaritan woman who is there at the well. She comes at the midday hour, ready to brave the heat of the Sun to draw up enough water. Jesus, Himself a Palestinian Jew, is unabashed when he casually asks for a drink from the well. He is breaking through many barriers. Jews of that time did not mingle with the Samaritans, who were forced to join with Assyrian subjects who were transplanted to the former Northern Kingdom of Israel. She, as a woman, would not normally converse with a man she didn’t know. Also, she was an outcast to her own people in that village, having to come after the cooler hours of the morning. This is likely due to the situation Jesus points out later, where she had been married five times and was currently living with a man who wasn’t her husband.  Jesus breaks through all these barriers without hesitation, for His faith transcends any barrier between God and humanity, as well as any barrier that people set between one another.^[i] When she questions how he is talking to her, a Samaritan woman, he tells her about water that will never pass away. This water is the eternal life that will quench the thirst of all who believe in Jesus; this is the thirst for life unending. 

How can I speak about fasting when we will always be hungry for more food? Why do we fast? The answer is simply that you don’t live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. In John’s Gospel, Chapter 6, Jesus feeds the five thousand. Then, later in Chapter 6, Jesus promises to give them “bread that will last.” He calls Himself the bread of life. In truth, Jesus Himself gives us life, and it is life eternal. The very word Eucharist is drawn from the Greek word to give thanks. We give thanks when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist and in our souls. The Catholic Church has us keep a one-hour fast from consuming any food or drinking anything before receiving the Eucharist. (Water is allowed and medicine). The fast is meant to honor God in the gift we receive. Our fast is to keep the Eucharist holy as it is received alone. The most important thing is to know that we cannot have life within us without receiving this holy gift. 

When we remember the gift of life we receive, why would anyone not give up more of their material wealth and possessions, or comforts and pleasures, to make space for God? You are called to give up that which holds you back from God. You are brought here, right now, in this present moment, to give yourself over to God even more. What can you fast from, in terms of time and habit, that will give you more time to be open with God?

Almsgiving

Remember that Almsgiving is not simply money given to the poor or a charitable donation to the needy. These good deeds are all important and deserve merit for the good they accomplish. I want to invite you to see the beauty with which charity comes to us when we sincerely give of ourselves. Time, talent, and treasure are one way to think about almsgiving, yet I speak for myself, I’m short on all three!

Let’s examine the scene when Jesus comes to Bethany to anoint Lazarus with eternal life. He comes after four days, knowing that He was too late to save Lazarus from his sickness (while he was alive). Martha says that her brother would had Jesus been there. Yet, she affirms her faith in Him. Jesus declares the promise that He is “the resurrection and the life” (John 7:25). Mary then comes and says, almost accusingly, that her brother would have lived. Now, Jesus goes to the tomb of Lazarus. He cries out in anguish, and those present say, “How he loved him” (John 11:36).  Now, against the protest of the onlookers, Jesus orders the stone rolled away. He cries out, “Lazarus, come out,” (John 11:43) and he does, bound hand and foot. Jesus committed a great act of charity, miraculous, using His strength to give life’s vigor back to Lazarus. This miracle was the greatest sign yet, to raise someone who had been dead for so long. 

In John 12, Jesus is the one who receives charity. Mary, the one who doubted among the sisters, came rushing into the room and put a lavish ointment on His feet. She used a spikenard, which was worth 300 days’ wages, and anointed Jesus this way. The whole room was full of the scent of this costly perfume. The Jews (or certain Jewish authorities) had decided on Jesus’ death. Mary of Bethany thanked Him for the gift of life and for the great deed He had done for her family. 

Only John’s Gospel identifies Judas Iscariot as the one who complains about this “lavish waste” of the ointment. (John also accuses Judas of being a thief). Judas misses the point, though. It was within God’s plan that this ointment was not sold, for it anointed Jesus for His own day of burial.

Note that in Rabbinic theology, almsgiving is an act of justice, yet care for the dead is an act of charity, which ranks higher as a good work. This theme echoes in John’s Gospel before the events of the Passover and Jesus’ passion.^[ii]

So, reading through John’s Gospel, consider your own charity. Give alms as you always do. Yet consider the signs of Jesus’ charity, His constant love of neighbor and His Father in Heaven, how He raised Lazarus after four days of death, and how Mary reciprocated this love with her anointing. Remember that when our lives seem pointless and hardened, charity always revives even a dead soul. 

Any alms that we can give are just what we need, and all acts of charity, big or small, even teeny tiny sacrifices, will add up when we do them in love.

Johannine Spirit in Lenten Observance

As we journey through Lent, turn to John’s Gospel, hear the ancient wisdom and the holy teaching that flows as clear, crystalline water. Johannine writing is simple enough for anyone to understand, and deep enough to always find greater insights and blessings so beneficial for the soul. I cannot do justice to all of St. John’s Gospel, although I will end our discussion with these final insights from St. John for the Lenten journey.

Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the World. The one who follows me will never walk in darkness. Rather, he will have the light of life.” Note that this correlates with Mark 6, where Jesus says that “You are the light of the world” (Mark 6:5). This difference seems like John’s Gospel changes the meaning of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). In actuality, John’s Gospel takes Jesus’ life and teaching and puts everything in an eternal context. Jesus is the light of the World, the eternal Son who sheds the “sonlight” on all of us.^[iii] We become the light of Christ to other people when we reflect our faith in Jesus through our lives. You will be like a mirror and reflection of God’s presence in your life, whether for the divinized light or an obscured shadow. Your life reflects that. That is as much a challenge for me, as I often find myself lost in dark moods and lost in my own thoughts. People will know when Christ’s light is truly reflected by us. 

In John 10, Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, the only true one who lays down His life for the sheep. He is, without question, the only one who would die, even to save the ungodly (see Romans 8). In this is God’s love revealed to us, that Jesus gave His very life up for us. He does all so that we may have life abundantly through Him (John 10:10). All this together is the canvas onto which John painted his masterful portrait of Jesus. He presented a Savior who is emphatically in love with us, His faithful. Without Him, we are nothing. Light, love, and life are the primary strokes that John’s pen painted on the canvas of this Gospel that reveal His true nature and identity.

Following and Service. In John 12, Jesus reminds us that to serve Him we must also follow Him, “and where I am, there my servant will be” (John 12:26). Jesus served others, as He demonstrated repeatedly throughout all the Gospels, and how He served His Disciples at the last Supper in John 13 by washing their feet He demonstrated His love for them. “I have given you a commandment; love one another, as I have loved you” (John 13:34). This is love demonstrated in service. Jesus was the teacher and master, and yet He, the very Beloved Son of God, chose to resort to the lowliest service. This is a mandatum, a command and model to emulate: “I have given you an example. What I have done for you, you should also do” (John 13:15). Jesus is not above service, and our service is to give ourselves in acts of charity and devotion. Thomas Merton wrote that life is worth living, not because of what it gives us, but in that it enables us to give to others.^[iv] Since John’s Gospel brings everything into an eternal narrative, every good deed, every act of service and love, has everlasting significance. No deed, no matter how small, will lose its significance in God’s Kingdom. 

Finally, we come to John 21, the great scene of the Resurrection account by the Sea of Tiberias. It was here that Jesus made His final appearance in John’s Gospel. Here, Jesus invites the Disciples to breakfast. The literal Greek verb to have breakfast meant “to eat salt.” This is interpreted as being a meal that lasts eternally, as salt preserves things without fail. Here, Jesus told the disciples to bring some of the fish they’d just caught. 153 fish, the total number of fish species known at that time. This has a universal meaning; the apostles (as they had just become) would evangelize the whole world. 

Jesus asks Peter three hard questions: “Do you love me?” It is the same question, yet it is given three times, which gives it a powerful character. Jesus responds with three answers: “Feed my lambs,”” Tend my sheep,” Feed my sheep.” These answers prepare Peter for the work that he will do, a ministry of greater service and love to his brothers and sisters in the Christian community. In the original Greek, Peter answers with “philia,” “brotherly love,” and Jesus asks the question with “agape,” “selfless love.” Jesus calls each of us to love with His eternal love, which is the love of the Father and of the Spirit, the Trinity’s divine communion, which is our inheritance in eternity.

Jesus ends by telling Peter, “What is it to you if I want him (the Beloved Disciple), to remain until I return? You follow me” (John 21:22). We are not here to compare ourselves with others. As we all have different crosses to bear, we all have a different glory to receive from Christ. Our Lenten observance is meant to prepare us for the weight of Resurrection glory. It’s so easy to compare, yet Jesus is superlative; nothing is greater than the love of Him. That is our destiny and calling. Thanks be to God for Lent, which prepares us to receive God’s Pascal love, and the grace it gives us. Amen.

^[i] Fr. Michael Casey, OSCO, Balaam’s Donkey, Reflection for Feb. 4^th.

^[ii] Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel and Epistles of John: A Concise Commentary, 67. 

^[iii] Peter Kreeft, Prayer for Beginners, Preface.

^[iv] Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island, Preface.