Fasting

After Matthew 6:16-18 

An act that is supposed

to be a kind of worship

becomes an act in a play,

the important replaced

by the theatrical. To draw

the scene larger than life,

which I what you do

in a play, you wear

your makeup, you project

your voice, you assume 

a role, you wander the stage

so as to be seen. Here,

however, the goal isn’t

entertainment; the goal is

being noticed, being caught

doing something good, being

respected, being bowed to,

making the self to be

the object of fasting, another

kind of idolatry. A suggestion:

don’t let anyone know when

you fast. Disguise yourself

to look normal, if you have to.

Keep the fast a secret between

you and the purpose, the objective

of your fast. Do it so that God

only knows.

 

Photograph by Julia Caesar via Unsplash. Used with permission.