Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, on this day we heard about the matter of fasting and abstinence, which are what we are required to do throughout this season of Lent. In the first reading and the Gospel we heard about the kind of fasting that the Lord does not want from us, and what He truly wanted from us, that is fast that comes from the heart, and fast and abstinence done with good faith and intention.

As we heard in the first reading today from the Book of the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah spoke about how many people were hypocrites in their faith, and how these people did not understand their faith appropriately, and how they fulfilled the commandments of the Law on one hand, but then at the same time, also contradicted the same commandments with their actions, filled with sins and unworthiness.

This is to remind us that we cannot believe in the Lord with mere empty faith, or believing just on the surface, or doing things for the sake of appearances, as people have done in the past, just so that they could be praised for their supposed faith and receive worldly approval and acceptance for doing so. Those who fast and abstain, or fulfil God’s commands simply because they thought that they had to do them, were not doing what God wanted from them.

In the Gospel, we heard how the disciples of John the Baptist, and also the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law on another, separate occasion often harassed Jesus and His disciples, and ridiculed them for not having obeyed the commandments of the Law as they had, because they did not fast, and they did not wash their hands properly in accordance with the laws of Moses. And for these reasons, the disciples of John and the Pharisees looked down on Jesus and His disciples.

But did they themselves know what they are fasting for? Many of them fasted because they were told to do so, or that they were told that the laws of Moses told them to do so, and if they did not obey them, then punishment would await them, or that they would not be able to remain a disciple or a follower. But they did not understand what they are doing all that for.

Are we like that, brothers and sisters in Christ? Are we doing things without proper understanding and faith? If we do so, then we are not doing ourselves a good service, and this great time and opportunity of Lent will be lost and wasted. Fasting and abstinence should not be done just for the sake of satisfying the Law of God or be seen as an obligation to be fulfilled. Rather, they should be the tools to help us on our way as we seek God’s salvation.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all in this time of Lent, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the glorious time of Easter and rejoice, let us all be properly attuned and aligned to God, understanding that our fasting is meant to restrain ourselves, and to rein in our greed and desire, so that these will not lead us into harm and into the wrong paths, and our abstinence will further strengthen our resolve to reject all that is evil and wicked, and seek what is good in God.

May we commit ourselves anew in this season of Lent, committing ourselves to a renewed faith in God, and to rediscover the love which we ought to have for the Lord our God, and may our fast and abstinence be fruitful, in helping us to persevere against the temptations of the evil one, that we may all reject his false promises. God bless us all. Amen.