Fasting, as a practice, is a way to enter into Jesus’ life. He was a homeless, hungry minority. He was a refugee and an outcast. He was actually—not just metaphorically—poor. He lived among violence. He died violently. To follow Jesus is not just to believe in his life; it is also to follow him into his lifestyle. And that idea runs hard against my usual expectations of being American. It’s hard to be poor in a land of plenty, and it’s hard to be hungry in a land of sugar. It’s hard to be empathetic in a land where we hide the poor on the other side of the interstate. It’s hard. It’s all just
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