Fasting For All the Right Reasons

6"This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. 7What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.” Isaiah 58:6-7 MSG

Fasting is an important tradition for many of us during the Lenten season. For some it can seem like our traditional New Year’s Eve resolutions, as we consider the things to give up in order to get in shape, lose weight and eat healthier. Even the most earnest among us seek to get closer to our Lord and Savior by sharing the experience Jesus had when He spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness.

In Isaiah chapter 58, the prophet expresses God’s disappointment in the people’s fast, even as the people are complaining about their fasts falling on deaf ears, “Why have we fasted, and You (God) have not seen it . . . have not noticed.” In response, God makes it clear that whatever they are doing is not pleasing, nor meaningful, but insincere and transactional.

What God is looking for is a fast that makes a difference in our communities, in our world, not just for our own personal aggrandizement. God is looking for us to express our fasts in action! Get active in a justice action, join the many actions to end oppression of the poor, the marginalized, the homeless, the addicted. Get involved with organizations that are trying to figure out how to relieve the debt burden on students. Instead of ignoring the people you see at intersections on your commute, share a breakfast sandwich or burger with them. Clean out your closet and be a blessing to someone in your community. And, be there when a family member needs you – don’t wait for them to ask, call them first.

We all have our reasons and appreciation for our traditional fasts, but what can compare with a fast that God finds pleasing. And then, when you pray, instead of God turning a deaf ear, God will answer, HERE I AM.

 Prayer : Our God, Creator of the Universe, we come to You with our humble prayer. Please create in our hearts a desire to fast according to Your wishes, and a discipline to see it through. In Your Son, Jesus’ Name. Amen.

By Daryle Brown
Executive Director of Multi-Media Communications
Trinity United Church of Christ
CRS Board Member