19th February, Friday.
I. Is 58:1-9
II. Mt 9:14-15
Theme: Fasting: one of way of saying yes to God.
We tend to think of fasting in relation to food and we assume to fast is to deprive ourselves of certain foods for a period of time. In the first reading, however, Isaiah defines fasting much more broadly than that. He describes it as departing or from all those ways that damage and oppress our relationship and replacing such ways of relating with working for justice on behalf of those in greatest need. In other words, Isaiah links fasting to our relationship with those in greatest need.
In the gospel reading Jesus affirms the value of fasting for the period after his death and resurrection. Within the Christian vision, fasting or abstaining is about becoming free of what is not essential so as to be able to give ourselves more fully in love to God and to our neighbor.
We fast so as to as to grow in our relationship with the Lord. We fast so as to be freer to respond to the call of those who most need our help. Fasting is always in the service of our love of the Lord and our love of others. If fasting is saying ‘no’ to something, it is always with a view to our making a more generous ‘yes’ to the Lord and his people.
We all have something to fast from; it may not necessarily be food or drink. We all have something to let go off so that we can be more available to the Lord for his work in the world. There may be something that absorbs us too much and that blocks our relationship with God and with others, especially those who need us most. Lent is a time when we ask for the grace to fast and step away from whatever that is holding us back, and hindering us from being all that God is calling us to be. So, to fast is to place ourselves at the service of the Lord and his people with willing hearts that long for the love of God.
Bro. Anthony Peter
II BTh