I f you fast, do not look somber and forlorn as the religious hypocrites do, for they even disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, if there is reward in that; they have already received it in full. But if you fast, comb your hair and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting. Your Father, who is unseen, sees that you are fasting; and he who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

I am not one who fasts much. I have always thought it a rather pretentious ‘religious exercise.’ As for those who like to advertise it, I just turn away in disgust, struggling to hold the cap on my distaste. And for those who fast in order to wrench something from God’s tenacious grip, I confess, I am sorry for them. God never withholds good things from those he loves, nor does he require a performance before he accords them. Yet if one seeks to deny himself food for the abstract purpose of spiritually indicative cleansing, there is no doubt at all that the loving Father will meet him on his own terms. The denial of food may be used to cause one to deny other things that distract from the Father’s loveliness. No doubt it sharpens focus. And if done without fanfare, if done in secret, does not the Father respond in kind?

Continue | Back | Contents

(142)