WASTED FASTING

Matthew 9:14-17

Fasting is commonly associated with Lent. And the season of Lent is intimately linked with sacrificing and mortifying the self. But lent is not primarily about sacrificing and mortifying the self. Lent is about life, not death. Sacrifice, mortification, and death have something to do with Lent only insofar as the forms of our sacrifice, mortification, and death are life-giving. From ancient times, the Church Fathers already referred to the season of Lent as “the springtime in the Church”. Lent comes from the old English word, “lencten” which means “springtime”.

Our fasting should be at the service of life. The more we fast, the more life-giving we should become. Fasting is not merely about depriving our selves of food or drink. Fasting is disciplining our selves to be more in control of our desires which are often the root causes of spiritual – and even physical – death for us and, through us, for others as well. If by fasting we feel good but do not become good persons, then our sacrifice is not life-giving. It is not the feeling good that makes us life-givers. It is becoming good – and even better – persons that transforms us into channels of life.

In ancient days, Christians fasted and the money or goods they saved from fasting were contributed to the common treasury for the poor. But today, when we fast, where do the money and goods we save from fasting go? Is it to our own pockets? Is it to our budget for the next meal? Is it to our funds for entertainment in the most luxurious ways? Fasting is not postponement. Fasting is sacrifice for the poor. We steal from the poor when we use what we save from fasting for our selves.

This in an important lesson that Jesus teaches us by answering the inquiry of John the Baptist’s disciples: it is not the time to fast that makes fasting pleasing to God. It is what fasting makes out of us that truly matters. Fasting should lead us to the newness of life, to the fullness of life, to the service of giving life in and through Jesus Christ.

Next time you fast, examine why you are fasting and what fasting does to you. If you fast simply to satisfy a religious precept, your fasting is shallow. If your fasting does not make you more and more a life-giver, forget it. It is like putting new wine into old wineskins. Your fasting is wasted.