Why do we fast?

Why the Freedom Fast? The Freedom Fast is anchored in a biblical admonition found in Isaiah 58, an admonition that I believe includes all of the world's major religions. And I quote: Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice? Look, you serve your own interests on your fast day and oppress all your workers.

Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly. Your vindicator shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, “Here I am.” Close quote.

That is the fast we seek: to loose the bonds of injustice, to let the oppressed go free, to share bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into our house, and to cover the naked.

What unites us as a nation is to embrace the call to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And to the Founding Fathers, the pursuit of happiness, influenced by both Scripture and classical thinkers, was about doing and being good. In that form of happiness, we can live in joy, peace, and with the knowledge that our happiness will contribute to the happiness of my neighbor.

This is Jim Copple for the Freedom Fast.