Answering the Call for Fasting? (Part 3)
All too often we approach fasting from a single perspective. “What shall I give up? What should I forgo doing, eating, etc.? Should I do a Daniel Fast or partial fast? Shall I fast from eating for a few hours in the morning or until sundown?” So much of our thinking is inwardly focused, on food and on what we are not getting. Today’s verses, however, encourage us to look outwardly and to take what we have… what we may forgo using for our personal gain and use it… give it… share it for the betterment of others. The wealth of resources, gifts, talents, and abilities with which we have been blessed… with which we have been entrusted, can certainly be used to free a soul, remove a burden, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, educate the unlearned, or provide an opportunity. In short, they can be a source of healing and hope to others who are without.
Let Us listen for the voice of God in the cries of God’s people. Let Us look to touch the heart of God by using what we have, all too often in excess, to meet the visible and felt needs of the hungry, naked, and otherwise disenfranchised. Let Us not simply forgo life’s pleasures and call ourselves “fasting” and “sacrificing,” but in the spirit of true fasting Let Us seek to hear God and heed God’s call to bring forth justice and equity with love.
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