Friday after Ash Wednesday

First Reading – Isaiah 58:1-9a

Giving Up and Giving!

Caiphas’ House, Jerusalem

Be honest!  When we were younger, we all did this during Lent.  We gave up something we liked – chocolate, TV (back when it was the only viewing option),  desserts, etc.  And it hurt!  And then we spent those 40 days moaning and groaning to anyone with ears – this hurts, why did I do this.  We wore our ‘fasting’ like a sweater for all to see (and hear)!  We made it sound like fasting was all about ME!

Isaiah makes it clear in the first reading!  It is not about ME; it’s about US! 

Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.

When I was teaching about Islam in my World Religions class, there was a clear link between 2 of the Pillars of Islam – Ramadan and Zakat.  You were called to fast from sun-up to sundown throughout the month of Ramadan.  And then at the end of Ramadan, that is when you fulfilled your Zakat duty of donating 2 ½ % of your wealth to the poor.  Think about that.  You spend 30 days doing without , managing only a simple meal before sun-up and another after sundown.  And after you have experienced what it’s like to do without basic human needs, when you realize what it’s like to be poor and hungry – that is when you donate to the poor and needy.  It leads you to appreciate and better understand those who do without not by choice but by circumstance.

Maybe that can be our challenge these 40 days of Lent.  To fast not in isolation from the world but in solidarity with those in need!  To see the connection between fasting and almsgiving!  To better appreciate all that we have and all that others lack!  And then to act on it!

 

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