24 February 2023

24 February 2023

Friday after Ash Wednesday

John the Baptist’s disciples ask Jesus, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast” (Matthew 9:14)? Their question echoes a similar question that the Jewish people in the First Reading say to God, “Why do we fast, but you do not see it; afflict ourselves, but you take no note” (Isaiah 58:3)? Both are questions about a particular type of fasting that the First Reading expounds upon and that Jesus told us about on Ash Wednesday. Isaiah points out that the Lord sees their fasting coupled with malice towards one’s neighbor, bickering, and religious hypocrisy. Likewise, Jesus also says that when some fast, they “neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting” (Matthew 6:16). Both Jesus and Isaiah highlight that fasting for its own sake does not win any valuable favors in this life nor in the life to come. Therefore, Jesus responds to the question by saying that now is not the time to fast because the bridegroom (i.e., Jesus) is still present. Why pass on the cake at a wedding?

            However, now that we are on our first Lenten Friday, this does not mean that we only fast by giving something up like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do. We still can give something up, but Isaiah invites his contemporaries and us to also fast in a new way that pleases God. The prophet hears God say, “Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose: releasing those bound unjustly…breaking off every yoke? Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house; clothing the naked when you see them” (Isaiah 58:6-7). Jesus also echoes this in his teaching on the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. The Church also teaches that we can do this by giving alms in addition to our personal fast. Through this type of fasting, Isaiah says, “Your wound shall be quickly healed…Then you shall call and the Lord will answer” (Isaiah 58:8-9). So, if we feel distant from God or that our prayers go unanswered maybe giving something and giving up something is our invitation today.