The Call of the Fast

Gospel: Matthew 9: 14-15

What are we about when we engage in fasting? For many it is a pursuit of the ego.  Some fast for some stoic pursuit of endurance or discipline.  Others do so in order to show others how much they can sacrifice.  Another set of people fast as a dieting exercise in order to lose weight and look better.  All of these may be perfectly fine in certain contexts, but as a religious practice they are inadequate to the task of authentic spiritual growth.

A fast is undertaken for the sake of others.  We give up things so that we might have more to give to others who are in need.  We who are privileged have way more than we need in terms of food, clothing, and other things.  We rob from the poor when we have these things in excess.  It is necessary for us to fast in order to provide for the poor, to identify with them in some small way, and to work toward lives of greater simplicity so that others may have what the need.  

Authentic religious fasting is directed to the care of others.  It is a work of mercy, not one of self-interest.  Fasting is about healing other people as well as the social stratum.  It is about liberating others from poverty, and ourselves from materialism and consumerism.  It is about nourishing others in body, mind, and spirit.  Let this Lent be for us about this intention, and to put away the motives of the ego that often accompany the fast.