Word to the Wise
Friday, February 12, 2016 - Friday after Ash Wed.
[Isa 58:1-9a and Matt 9:14-15]"Why do we fast, and you do not see it? Afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?"..."This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unustly, 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." [Isaiah]
Fasting is a traditional observance. Although the only fast required in the Mosaic Law was the one at Yom Kippur, the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' time made a point of it. From what Isaiah says today, it was also a form of penitence hundreds of years before Jesus came, but Isaiah saw through it and told the people that if they wanted to "fast," the best kind was to fast from doing evil and injustice!
We can fast for various reasons: to lose weight, to prepare for a medical procedure, to observe religious obligations, etc. If we do it for reasons of faith, it should reflect what is going on in the rest of our lives. The current fasting rules in the U.S.A. for Catholics are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. (There are "abstinence" rules too: No meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and the Fridays of Lent.). But they are not binding under pain of sin, and are required only for those 18-59 years of age. They are meant to call attention to the need for penance. In fact, Isaiah's form of fasting is better. Notice how his list of "fastings" is echoed in Matthew 25 in the Last Judgment scene!
If we want to do more than the required "fasting," Isaiah and Matthew (and Pope Francis) offer us those lists. Our Catholic tradition speaks of the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. They are really ONE list of fourteen examples of fasting and mercy. Those are a good guide. Happy Fasting! AMEN
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