# Seeking God, finding God: The fast of forgiveness
*2015-02-19*

> Bill Young reflects on the true meaning of fasting during Lent, focusing on the spiritual liberation that comes from forgiving others and releasing them from our own expectations.

## The true fast of Isaiah

Today is the Friday after Ash Wednesday in Lent. We are reading from a book called 'Seeking God, Finding God: Meditations, Activities, and Prayers.' The summary for today centers on the words of Isaiah: 'This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke, setting free the oppressed.'

Every year at the beginning of Lent, we encounter these words. The text reminds us of the command to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked. These are tangible acts of mercy that many of us know how to do. But the challenge arises when we ask: how do I free those who are bound unjustly?

## The prisons we create

When thinking about those bound unjustly, my mind often turns to people on death row who might actually be innocent, and I feel immensely overwhelmed by that reality. However, I have become aware of the people whom I have imprisoned myself—the ones I actually have the power to set free.

Many people remain imprisoned in our hearts because we refuse to forgive them. When we have been deeply hurt, our wounded self insists that the other person should continue to feel bad. We ask ourselves, 'Why should I release them?'

## The bondage of expectations

Beyond resentment, there are those we imprison through our positive expectations. Even with members of our own family, we may hold them to a standard we believe is for their own good, yet it becomes a cage. 

Then there are those we imprison with negative expectations—the ones we decide will never succeed in our eyes. In these cases, we tell ourselves we are simply protecting ourselves from disappointment. But in reality, we are still binding them.

## A call to liberation

Why should we set these people free? There is only one reason: because this is the fast God asks of me. 

As a practice for today, consider the people in your life who may not feel free because of the way you have bound them. Choose one person to set free and do it through a note, a phone call, or an apology.

*True Lenten fasting involves not only abstaining from food but releasing others from the prisons of our resentment and expectations.*