Word to the Wise
Friday, February 23, 2007 - Lenten Weekday
[Isaiah 58:1-9A and Matthew 9:14-15]This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing tholse bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.
Fasting is a traditional form of religious asceticism. It is a way of disciplining appetite and bearing witness to some important truths about hunger and the hungry. Isaiah takes aim at those who fast for appearance' sake and have no true love for the hungry or the oppressed. Jesus takes aim at the scribes and Pharisees who mistake the true purpose of fasting and its meaning. For Catholic Christians, fasting is minimal in terms of law now. We are required to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday if we are between the ages of 18 and 59. Any other fasting is up to us individually. Abstinence from meat is required on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent. Hardly a terrible penance! Some of us "give up" something for Lent - a sort of 40 day self-imposed "fast" from our favorite food, drink, activity, etc. I think the question that must be asked in each case is WHY? Fasting is supposed to be a form of witness to religious faith and commitment. Are we committed to the tasks that Isaiah calls true fasting? Does our "fast" say those things to us? Are we just doing it so we can say we "gave up something for Lent?" An intentional fast such as promoted by Oxfam or other organizations that work with world hunger could make a difference in our life and in the lives of those around us. It would be more than "giving up" something, it would be a deliberate act of solidarity and a commitment to do whatever each of us can do in our own individual way to combat world hunger or political oppression. An intentional Lent seems to me to have a great deal more power than the accidental Lent that we wake up to and put away the beer and chocolate for 40 days! AMEN
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