The Fast That We Have Chosen

Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lenten fast, and as such is the marker for a great time of fasting throughout Christianity.  It is good to remind ourselves of why we fast during this time of year, for to fast means we have something to give up.

As I read my favorite passage on fasting this morning, Isaiah 58, I was soon struck by the incredible dissonance between the passage and how most people want to end  poverty.  According to the latest Barna poll, 39% of Americans think the federal government should take the lead to address poverty, 25% think it should be the state government, 18% say each individual citizen, 4% said churches,  4% said nonprofit organizations, and 3% chose businesses.

It’s sad that so few people believe that the church should take the lead to address poverty.  On this first day of fasting, we should heed the words of Isaiah:

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Our Lenten fast reminds us of how much we have, and how little Christ was given as he was tempted.  We have been given all through Christ, so we must be the ones to take the lead with poverty and injustice.  When we fast we must do so as a sign of the Gospel, to be a light to those who are burdened and chained by poverty and injustice.