Friday after Ash
Wednesday
March 7, 2014 8:30am
Today’s readings are challenging
and even a bit jarring.
We as a Church lift up the value
of some fasting during Lent.
But today’s readings are at least
cautious about this.
God, through the prophet Isaiah in
the first reading, says:
What matters is that you care for
those who are in need.
God wants us to fast, not so much
from food, but from any prejudices or from any sense of superiority or from our
fears and divisions.
He simply wants us to care for
those in need, no matter who they are or for whatever reason they are in
need.
Even Jesus in today’s gospel
doesn’t really advocate fasting.
He acknowledges that we will fast
when he, the bridegroom is no longer with us, but he doesn’t really pump it up as
a priority.
Why?
Apparently because he knows that
it is not an end in itself and that we might slide into thinking that it is an
end in itself and judge ourselves as good just because we do it.
So, I see these as tough,
challenging readings.
I do believe that fasting is good
and plays a real part in our spiritual life.
It plays a real part in our
growing in the way of Jesus.
But it plays this part if our
fasting from some amount or some kind of food leads us within ourselves, to
really look at and know ourselves.
Fasting plays a part if it leads
us to look within and see what attitudes and conversations and actions we need
to fast from, and what attitudes and conversations and actions we need to
embrace and adopt.
If we do that, we will be moved
to care for people in need, no matter who or where they are.
In our Catholic tradition, we
call this charity and social justice.
That’s the purpose of fasting
according to today’s readings.
To me, the purpose is much more
challenging than the fasting itself.
