Richard Rohr: The real fast God wants

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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 to 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? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and He will say, Here I am.” Isaiah 58:6-9a

“Isaiah says explicitly that God prefers another kind of fasting which changes our actual lifestyle and not just punishes our body (The poor body is always the available scapegoat to avoid touching our purse, our calendar, or our prejudices). Isaiah makes a very upfront demand for social justice, non-aggression, taking our feet off the necks of the oppressed, sharing our bread with the hungry, clothing the naked, letting go of our own sense of entitlement, malicious speech, and sheltering the homeless. He says very clearly this is the real fast God wants!”

Richard Rohr in Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent (Cincinnati: SAMPBooks, 2011) 18-19.

Love that! “The real fast God wants” is not to punish our bodies but to change our lifestyles. Fasting trains us to desire different things, better things. It creates space for the Spirit to produce the fruit of generosity in us. It causes our light to shine. God cares about people and in our fallen state, we tend toward caring only for ourselves at the expense of others. Don’t fast this Lent to lose weight, do it to change your habits. Don’t abstain from forms of technology unless you plan to fill that bandwidth with the things God cares about. Fast with the purpose of pleasing God.