True Fasting

Besides being the spokespersons for God, Prophets SCOLD from time to time.  Isaiah is noted for his direct and clear descriptions of what God's people are doing:  "Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,/ and drive all your laborers./ Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,/ striking with wicked claw." (Is 58: 3b-4). Yes, even today if we look at our own fasting, we might find it disconnected from our actions.  We might give up that delicious double bacon cheeseburger, but fail to respond to the call for food for the local food pantry.  Our fasting can be routine and mechanical and not connected at all to our heart.  No, indeed, fasting is meant to open the heart, to sensitize it to the needs of others.  The hunger we feel should remind us of the thousands of hungry in the local community and move us to share what we have to help them.
Isaiah is clear on what real fasting is:
releasing those bound unjustly
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless.  (Is 58: 6-7)

Lord, as I abstain from meat and measure the amount of  food I eat, open my heart to help those in need.
Bro. Rene