“Why do the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.” (MK 2:18-20)
Why do we fast? Well, at times we need to fast for medical reasons like when we have blood work done or when we prepare for a routine checkup or undergo a surgical procedure. We also fast for health reasons, to care for certain dietary concerns that can reduce health risks and to improve our overall wellness and wellbeing. We also fast for spiritual reasons. In ancient times, the People of God would fast in preparation to encounter God on his holy mountain and enter into God’s Holy presence. This ritual of purification was required to wash their bodies, purify their hearts and cleanse their minds in order to more fully enter into the Glory of God. For three days, God’s people would fast from certain foods, refrain from sin and avoid sinful activity in order to be holy before the Holy of Holies. They were to be purified in order to behold the Purity of God. We more often than not attribute fasting to food similar to the observances and practices of the Lenten Season. But fasting is much more than refraining or abstaining from food since we are much more than body. We are also heart, spirit, mind, and soul. All these can uniquely contribute to or hinder our spiritual health and wellbeing. For example, to cleanse our minds in order to more fully enter into the Glory and Holiness of God, we can fast from impure and graven images. We can refrain from living and playing out fantasies. We can keep from judgmental and hurtful thoughts. We can stop worrying and begin to trust in God more fully. To consecrate our hearts in order to more intimately experience the Mercy of God, we can refrain from anger, get rid of malice, avoid hatred, eliminate envy and simply love more and forgive more often. To wash our bodies clean in order to be the Temple of God which we were created to be, we can fast from inappropriate touching, from obscene gestures, from impure acts, from bad language and from eating fast food in order to more fully become the Body of Christ. To sanctify our spirits in order to more fully enter into the Kingdom of the Divine Will, we can fast from pride, from ego, from selfishness and from ambition in order to become more like Jesus who is meek and humble of heart. To purify our souls in order to be with God, we need to fast from blasphemies, idolatries, all mortal and grave sin and desire more the road to saintliness, sanctity and holiness in order to make a full and faithful return to innocence and to the sacred.