Friday after Ash Wednesday

 Isaiah 58:1-9a      Matthew 9:14-15

Today’s gospel reminded me of a short video that struck me many years ago. The clip focused on a particular fourth grade girl in her classroom waiting for a special guest to be introduced. She has no idea that it is her own father who has come home to surprise her after being deployed in Iraq for the past year. As he enters the classroom, her face completely disassembles in a wave of surprise and pure emotion. The longing, the missed time and the powerful love between them is beyond words and the sacrifice of the previous year is instantly washed away. Jesus, in anticipating his own absence to come, also emphasizes the time he and his friends have left together as precious and finite. He knows how hard their paths will be.

Today’s readings ask us to expand our understanding of fasting. Separation from loved ones, common acts of kindness and selflessness, attending to the people around us in the moment are all seen as forms of fasting that let “our light shine forth like the dawn while our wounds are quickly healed.”

In everyday life, we all know the positive feelings that come with helping someone. The line between giving and receiving can blur easily when the joy of the recipient becomes a gift to the giver. My Dad spent the last ten weeks of his life in the hospital. His confinement conflicted greatly with his self-reliance. Still, he remained positive, cheerful, even funny in a way I never knew. He displayed a gracious charm and constant gratitude for the caring staff and the companionship of his family. He died surprisingly quickly after leaving the hospital and my mom asked me to take some cookies and a note to the nurses that had provided so much care and comfort. I left the gift at the nursing station and was waiting for the elevator when a pair of the nurses came racing around the corner to catch me. Their damp eyes shined as they told me how special he was. Such a small thing yet unforgettable.

Q: What can I add to my fasting this Lent that will let the light of Christ shine forth more brightly?

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