As I usually do in the run up to Ash Wednesday and Lent, I have been thinking about fasting and the purpose behind fasting. As I was meditating on Lenten practices I thought about how many people will give up things like chocolate, coffee, or social media for Lent. I do not want to discourage these practices too much because there is a reality that they can be very helpful in leading people toward God. But I also notice that often people take part in such fasts without taking note of the larger goals that God has for our lives. This led me to meditate on one of the most famous passages about how we are meant to interact with God Micah 6, and specifically verse 8:
He has told you, human one, what is good and
what the Lord requires from you:
to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God.
We all associate Lent with fasting which is why so many people give something up for the season. But how many people think about the original purpose of fasting; fasting was meant as a way to experience one’s grief. Fasts were a sign of mourning the pain, suffering, and injustice of the world. Originally, fasting was a time when a person showed their anguish to God because of the misery they experienced in this world. As time went on, fasting became a practice not simply of lamenting one’s own grief but in joining in the sorrows of others. A fast was a way of participating in the suffering another person was experiencing. But modern celebrations of Lent and fasting seem to omit this crucial detail. Fasting is often pursued as a way of connecting with God through self-denial, and while there is truth to this element also, I think it is time for us to regain the original purpose. It is time for us to fast seeking an end of grief, sorrow, and injustice in our lives, our communities and our world.
Even small fasts like chocolate and social media can be used call our attention toward the injustice in the world. Let the absence of these things direct your prayers to those who are hurting and in need. Let the fact you are not eating sweets cause you to pray for those who cannot afford them or who have no access to them because they are refugees. Let your disconnected time away from social media lead you to pray for those who are lonely. Resolve to give money from the sweets you are not eating to a cause promoting justice. Take time to advocate for refugees. Each of these is a way that your small fast can help you lament the plight of others and lead you to show mercy toward those who are the victims of injustice in this world. It is an opportunity to take a good spiritual discipline and utilize it to fulfill the prophets commands for us to show mercy.
If our fasts are only pointed inward they can only be of limited use to us, fasting can and should have a communal dimension. We can fast with people and for people, calling attention to the circumstances of their lives and calling on God to help heal what is wrong with the world. This Lent take time to reflect on and lament the injustice in the world and to pray asking God to step in and have mercy as well as show you where you can be part of the solution bringing mercy and justice to those who currently face injustice.
Squinting in the Light 
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