We’re forty-eight hours into Lent. How is our fasting going? We might feel pangs of hunger, a craving for a burger or the Tim Tams we stashed in a drawer in the kitchen. But then we hear this reading from Isaiah. “Do you call this a fast?”
Ouch.
Isaiah describes the kind of fasting we should pursue—releasing those bound unjustly, sharing bread, sheltering the oppressed, clothing the naked. All of which challenges us to admit that just as there are many kinds of fasting, there are many kinds of hunger. It’s not just about food. The world is crying out in need. Our fasting unites us in solidarity with all the hungry around us and reminds us of our obligations to help them be fed.
What can we do on behalf of those who hunger for justice, or dignity; those who crave friendship or respect? Do we see those people that others overlook? What about the victimized? The marginalized? The neglected?
Our own hunger pangs remind us that there are those in the world who crave more than a hamburger. Some people are hungry for dignity. Others for consolation. Still others, for hope.
Lent calls on us to remember those who are often forgotten, and to use our sacrifice to let them know they are seen and heard. Think of the meals we miss or the desserts we skip.
Do we call that a fast? Is there more we can give up—and give?

Deacon Greg Kandra

Greg Kandra is a Roman Catholic deacon serving the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. Author of The Busy Person’s Guide to Prayer, he is an award-winning broadcast journalist and maintains The Deacon’s Bench blog.