As we near the end of the Lenten season, what I reflect upon are fish sandwiches on Friday and no chocolate for 40 days. What this really translates into is fasting of some sort. Growing up I never knew what this fasting or giving something up for Lent was all about. All I knew was that I was supposed to pick something that I love and then not eat, do it, use it, ect. until Easter. Some years this would end in epic failure not lasting a week, and other years when I was feeling especially sneaky I would give up giving something up for Lent. In the end, what Lent became for me was a time of anticipation of spring and hunting for Easter baskets.
This was, until I had a professor in college who would not shave at all during Lent. This professor, usually clean cut and well put together, would week by week come undone. As a beard owner, well former beard owner, I can truly say that his beard was not a pleasant sight. I could not figure out why this usually well kept man suddenly let go of his hygiene. I one day asked my professor why he grew this beard. It was through this conversation that he then opened my eyes to the beauty of fasting during Lent.
For my professor, his growing of a beard was a constant reminder of self examination. Each time that he would see himself in the mirror, his patchy facial hair would be a physical reminder to not just think of himself, but how his actions are affecting others. This sounded like a true fast to me, something with some substance, something that I could get on board with.
In the Isaiah passage we read tonight, we hear about the fasts which God desires. Isaiah 58:1-12, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”
Fasting which points us towards our interconnectedness with one another is fasting which God desires. We are not called to fast for the sake of feeling the pain of hunger, or the pain of desiring chocolate, or even the pain of poor facial hair. What we are called to, in that moment of desire for chocolate, is to think of those who work in slave conditions to provide that chocolate for you. When you feel the pangs of hunger think not of the feasting which will come when the fast is over, but think of those who in our neighborhoods go without meals. When we go in the morning during Lent without that cup of coffee think about those picking the coffee beans at unfair wages, or decide to only buy fair trade coffee to support in a humane way those who provide for our daily needs. When you fast from watching TV, don’t just go online to watch your missed episodes, but think of the way our culture makes us slaves to certain images and ideals, think of the products we sell to our children, and think of the values which we teach them all through advertising on TV.
This truly sounds like a daunting task, any fast for 40 days is a long time. And it should seem like a large task at hand, because biblically the number 40 means “a long time”. But we should not give up hope, because just as Isaiah tells us what God wishes for our fasts, Isaiah also promises us in verse 11 that, “The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water whose waters never fail. Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.” God promises our guidance and our safety, through the long droughts of our lives. And what is amazing is that God not only promises to watch after us, but to turn our parched places into a spring of water, where all would gather for nourishment; not just satisfying our needs but serving the needs of the community
In the end, our fasting is truly less about ourselves, and more about how we live in community with one another. It is sad how I have lived on the same street for two years now and have relatively little community with the neighbors around me. I unfortunately think that this is the norm. We tend to live our lives thinking we are self sustaining, while in reality all of our actions greatly affect those we are in community with whether we know it or not. We are called to love one another at all times and in all ways as we can see from Isaiah’s description of a fast acceptable to God. I believe that when we try to live in seclusion, focusing inwards we are not truly living up to the way which God created us, in the image of God, the trinity, three in one, one in three, in blessed unity, a constant love between the Father and Son by the Holy Spirit. That is what we are called to as well. We must not turn our eyes away from our brothers and sisters, but pray that the Holy Spirit may unite us in love.
Whether you are giving up chocolate, coffee, TV, growing a patchy beard, eating fish on Fridays, or whatever you may do, make your actions one of self reflection. Take this season to prayerfully fast and look both at our present actions and forward to the joyful feast of Easter morning, the promise of God’s kingdom coming where all will be made whole. For, while we are called to share bread with the hungry, clothe the naked, and welcome in the homeless, we only do so in the great hope of the coming kingdom of God where the hungry will be fed, the blind will see, the lame will walk, and all tears will be wiped away.
