Friday after Ash Wednesday 2023
“For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.”
—Psalm 51:18-19
Lent isn’t an end in itself. The “reason for the season,” as it were, is to help us prepare for Easter when we will renew our baptismal commitment.
In the first centuries after Jesus, those individuals who wanted to become Christian spent months and even years preparing for baptism, which almost always took place in a special ceremony on the night before Easter. That night was anticipated by a time of prayer and fasting so that the soon-to-be Christians would be as ready as they could be to receive the gifts of baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist. This is the origin of Lent.
Over time, those days of prayer and fasting became a period of 40 days (not including Sundays, which are always days of celebration), recalling the 40 years the People of Israel wandered in the desert before entering the Promised Land (cf. Deuteronomy 2:7) and the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and praying before he began his ministry (cf. Luke 4:1-2). Those Christians who were already baptized would also pray and fast as they prepared to renew their own commitment to Christ at Easter by renewing their baptismal promises.
From the beginning, fasting has been a fundamental part of the observance of Lent. So, it’s not really a surprise that the Readings assigned for this Friday after Ash Wednesday would invite us to reflect on the importance of fasting, but these texts also challenge us to see that our fasting isn’t some sort of private experience. Rather, our fasting and abstinence, if they are to truly bear fruit, should be helping us to focus less on ourselves and to become more attuned to those around us. The words we hear from the Prophet Isaiah in the First Reading summarize this beautifully:
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.—Isaiah 58:5b-
In a way, fasting is rooted in gratitude because it invites us to name the many goods that we have in life—including food, clothing, possessions that help us to live comfortably, and loving relationships. In recognizing how many gifts we enjoy, we can also, then, become aware of those places in the world where there is want and neglect. This awareness confronts the privilege that we so-easily cling to and which insulates us from the pain of those around us.
“How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother and sister in need and yet refuses help?”—1 John 3:7
As we let go of our comfort and privilege by fasting and abstinence, we are then free to grow in compassion and service, especially when we are able to use the time, money, and other resources we save by fasting to help ease the suffering of someone else. This is why, in his 2009 Message for Lent, Pope Benedict XVI reflected that “voluntary fasting helps us to grow in the spirt of the Good Samaritan, who bends low and goes to the help of his suffering brother. By freely embracing an act of self-denial for the sake of another, we make a statement that our brother and sister in need is not a stranger.”
As we mark this first Friday in Lent—a day of abstinence and prayer—we would do well to ask how we can share the fruits of our good works with those for whom hunger and want are part of their daily existence.
Show gracious favor, O Lord, we pray,
to the works of penance we have begun,
that we may have strength to accomplish with sincerity
the bodily observances we undertake.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for Friday after Ash Wednesday
