Lenten Homily, Friday, 20 February 2026

Fasting is fashionable again, intermittent fasting, liquid fast, Daniel fast…

But there are times to fast, and times not to. So how do we know the difference?

In the Old Testament there is so much waiting and fasting – you can almost feel the ache of it. But Jesus is here now. That changes everything. We live in this strange Christian tension: already and not yet. Heaven has started breaking in, and we’re still not home.

And that’s why Lent is not just about fasting. It’s also about learning how to wait. Because waiting is hard.

If I’m honest, I would love to not have to wait. I would love to think of something and it happens. Quickly. Cleanly.

But real life is uncertainty.

I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know how long. And so much of it doesn’t depend on me.

Here’s the paradox: Christian waiting is not helpless. It’s not doing nothing. It’s not pretending nothing matters.

We pray. We act. We do what we can. And still, in the end, it doesn’t depend on us. That’s the place where Lent gets real.

God is teaching us a wisdom we don’t naturally have:

• When to accept what we cannot change, and be okay without grasping.
• When to step forward into what God has already given.

That discernment is hard.

One of the best examples for me is the martyrs. They weren’t suicidal. They didn’t run toward death for drama. But they also weren’t hiding in their houses.

They had found something more important than their own lives. So obviously: please don’t go out looking to get killed.

But ask the deeper question: What does it look like today to be free? What does it look like to ask the Lord for joy while you’re in something difficult… and at the same time not throw yourself into suffering that God is not asking of you?

Sometimes the Lord provides through community. Sometimes it’s something personal. Sometimes it’s simply the invitation to enjoy what you already have.

But the key is the same: Let him lead.