This is the fasting that I wish: releasing those unjustly bound, untying the thongs of the yoke of oppression, sharing bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and clothing the naked. Fasting is one of the three practices that characterize our Lenten observance. It is a rich practice that can be obscured by our literal approach to it.
Why do we fast and what do we fast from? We always understand fasting as abstinence from food, drink, or any other activity in which we indulge in order to placate our bodily appetites (such as smoking). And there is nothing wrong with that, since we do so in observance of a law of the Church. However, fasting has a much broader scope than food, and our Lenten fasting should reflect this. The Lord, speaking through prophet Isaiah in today’s First Reading today, could not have said it any better.
In our list of priorities, self-preservation and happiness tops the list. In our list of people to love, we occupy the first place. We want better jobs, better neighborhoods, better cars, better schools for our children, and better treatment. This is not in itself bad. God does want us to be happy. God does want us to lead a good life. God wants the best for us. However, in our attempts at looking after our own good and happiness, we sometimes end up hurting others. This happens because in the pursuit of our own interests, we lose track of who we are and what we are about (the purpose for which God created and put us in this world). We tend to forget about the existence of the other as we become blinded by our attempts at self-preservation. We lose track of who we are whenever we utter words that aims at putting the other down; whenever in our attempt to beat the red light we overtake the other vehicle on the wrong side; whenever in our laziness we refuse to take the shopping cart in the designated spot and opt to leave it in the parking slot.
Lent is a time for taking stock of our lives. It is time for slowing down in order to pay attention to my surrounding, a time to realize those brothers and sisters of mine who had become invisible to me because I was so busy with other things or because I just didn’t care about them. Lent is a time for recollection, a time to reflect on my life and see in what areas I have been selfish and refused to live as a member of a community. Fasting helps me to remedy my acts of selfishness. Lent calls on me to fast (desist) from acts of selfishness such as refusing to forgive those who might have wronged me. Lent calls upon me to desist from engaging in bribery and similar corrupt acts that lead to oppression of the poor. Lent is a time of fasting from words that kill the happiness of others as well as words that cause discord in the community. Lent is a time of fasting that aims to build. This is the kind of fasting that the Lord requires from us.