There are many ways to fast and many things to fast from. The gospel from Matthew helps to unravel the deeper reason for fasting. One is to give up something pleasurable like eating, drinking, watching TV, or being on the phone in order to bring our minds and hearts to remember Jesus' suffering. We can also recognize how good we have it and that many people have so much less. What little things can we do to help them? By fasting from these things that give us pleasure and satisfaction and take up so much of our time and attention, it allows us to quiet our minds and our hearts to connect with God and hear his soft voice. In fasting from a meal or part of a meal, we can become hungry. This hunger can be a reminder of the time that Jesus was in the desert after his baptism with nothing to eat or drink. In the "Our Father" we ask God to "Give us this day our Daily Bread". God will provide for all of our needs both Physical and Spiritual. Our hunger is physical, but it can also be a reminder of our spiritual hunger and the ways we try to fill the God-shaped holes in our hearts with things that can never truly satisfy. Fasting reminds us of our need for God and helps us to be dependent on Him in everything. We are called to be His children. Should we not, then, depend and rely on Him to be the perfect Father?

Lord, when we fast from things this Lent, open our hearts and minds and in your mercy, reveal to us the deeper value of it. Help us rid ourselves of the distractions in our lives in order to draw us closer to you. And while fasting is good; it alone is not sufficient. In the void of giving something up, help us to do something good, something pleasing to you Oh Lord. May we all "(Finally Find) What We Have Been Looking For". May we all find you!
Amen.

What can I say that I've broken the Baha'i Fast so that I won't be overly anxious on a busy day at the restaurant?
Using my arms and back to wash dishes.
Tactile placement of the feet around co-workers.
Remembering every detail needed for deliveries.
Baha'u'llah has exempted heavy labor from the Fast.
I couldn't do my work without constant water and a store of calories.
But what of smoking on work days?
What would God think?
The fact that I'm overly anxious at work without them has made me know how addicted I am.
So anxious as to question whether I should quit work.
"Don't do that to me again," my body tells itself, "last night was too much anxiety to simply be without smokes."
I suppose my soul will go to a tier of the afterlife where people are addicted to cigarettes.

Quarantine,
you must.

In sha Allah,
Coronever you may.

Fast by day.

By night,
Taraweeh pray.

This is the way.

We call it Good
Victory in being vanquished
Daylight in darkness
Bearing a cross

Triumph in a tomb
Three days
And death is doomed
Passing like a night
To laughing day

I am on a diet
from sharp knives

I have been fasting
for about two months

Here is my clean
untouched wrists

But what if I got thirsty
for a drop of my blood?

What if I got hungry, and swallowed
all the knives in the kitchen drawer?

Reason is a pen
with nothing to write;
As my tongue, a ready string
on an ancient harp.

I fast and sit,
in stillness and darkness;
But Life's a gift;
and Chance,
unmoved and unmovable -
just another name for God.

My soul is the master,
My body is an obedient servant.
Without a soul,
My body is just a corpse,
A wasted husk.
The beauty of my body lies
when it is in partnership with my soul,
Just as you need to exercise and go to a gym to maintain your body's fitness,
You need to go to a mosque,church or temple to maintain your soul's purity.
Your body is a carcass that is going to decompose in the soil,
Your soul is destined for your hereafter,
Your soul will be accountable for your deeds good or bad,
Your soul will accumulate Allah's rewards and blessings.
That can only be done by fasting,praying and giving alms,
Not to forget pilgrimage,
Which imbibes piety and certainty in you,
Guards you against evil,
Restrains you from shameful and unjustful deeds,
Cleanses and purifies your soul,
So that  it leaves your body with least pain,
And the Angels come with joy to wrap in soft musk scented cloth,
And take you to your creator.
7/6/2019