After fasting for forty days, Jesus experienced intense hunger. No aspect of our human existence was foreign to him. Even today, countless people still suffer from hunger. But what links Jesus’ hunger, our fasting, and Easter? For many of us, the experience of hunger in our lives is not so probable. Thus, fasting remains a choice. But why should we embrace fasting?
Some fast for personal reasons, such as health or fitness. These are legitimate motivations. Yet, fasting can also connect us to the mystery of Easter. Some fast to share food with the poor; others do so in solidarity with those who are hungry.
However, these noble intentions do not fully unveil the secret of Jesus’ fasting. Jesus freely chose to fast to partake in human suffering. The effects of hunger go beyond what is physical and touches us deeply in our heart. It creates a vacuum in us, exposes our weekness, and make us more vulnerable. Fasting can bring about a genuine transformation.
Hunger is never without its challenges. It brings temptation in its wake. In the wilderness, Jesus faced the temptation of success, fame, and power. Hunger exposes hidden desires in us and forces us to confront what we often seek to ignore. Not even Jesus was exempt from facing these temptations.
Yet, this was his mission. He did not crush all desires and temptations but endured them, reaching the other side of our desires: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”. This is the hunger and thirst for God. Jesus showed us that fasting is not an end in itself but a path that leads beyond darkness into light. God longs for us, and we long for Him.
