The Protestant Anchorite

Scripture and history reveal that early Christians, like the Old Testament worshippers of YHVH, fasted a lot.  My experience is that twenty-first century Christians don't understand it.  They don't understand what letting yourself get hungry has to do with Salvation or spirituality.  The thing is, God has had a lot to say about fasting.  He has rewarded fasting with answered prayers and revelations.  He has acknowledged fasting as an acceptable form of penance.  He has also spoken out angrily against the fasting of hypocrites, but in doing so, He gave us a different definition of fasting: relieving orphans and widows and immigrants, visiting the sick and prisoners.  Huh?  What do those things have to do with going without food?  Well, actually, there is a centuries-old tradition that you take what you didn't eat and drink while fasting, and use it to minister to those who have nothing.  Of course, in our cash-based, affluent societies, we might not know anyone who has nothing, and we might not be organized to accumulate the unconsumed food of our parish or congregation to give it to the needy.  But we should ask ourselves "Why not?" because Christians have been doing it since the days of the Apostles.  In fact, 18th and 19th century Christians in America did that regularly at least one day per month.  What do we miss when we don't do it?  We miss becoming weak before God, and His Strength is made perfect in our weakness.  We also miss the opportunity to see first-hand and identify with the most needy, weak, dependent humans among us.  They are the special charge of YHVH.