Isaiah 58: 1-9a - The kind of fasting God desires.
Matthew 9: 14-15 - The kind of feasting Christ desires.
WE GET TO DECIDE what kind of day today is.
It could be a day of fasting; a day in which we choose to deprive ourselves of stuff that fills us up and makes us feel happy. Our fast can be as simple as giving up dessert, or as profound as feeding another person who is physically hungry. Our fast can be as slight as feeling the desire to taste the sweetness of butter-pecan ice cream with hot fudge, and saying, “No.” Or, as sublime as staying awake to be present with someone; a child, a spouse, a neighbor, relative or friend who is in pain. Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.
It could be a day to celebrate a wedding feast with fine rich foods, delectable Champaign, wedding cake, music and dancing. It could be a day for us to laugh, share memories of our faith, tell stories of romance, dream about the future, and bask in the warm glow of true love between a bride and a groom, a love that is eternal, a love that never ends, a love that defines who we are as members of the mystical Body of Christ.
Either way, fasting or feasting, we are given this day to meet Christ; in the suffering we feel as we deprive ourselves, or in the joy of ever present love. Today is a day to open ourselves to the Christ who saves us, feeds us, dies for us so that we might have life with him.
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