When I did, the person who answered the phone was surprised that someone had called her back. To honor her privacy, I will call her Linda, but that’s not her actual name. Linda is a 74 year-old retired nurse who moved to Hawaii from Ohio after caring for her mother for eight years. She moved to Hawaii because she has Rayanud’s disease that is a blood circulation issue and warmer climates make life better. She had been living at the YMCA Atherton across from the Ala Moana Hotel for six months, I think on donations. Her social security and food stamps don’t cover her living expenses. She has no family. Never married. No children. While her desire was (and still is) to be a live-in caregiver for a kupuna, she has been hanging in there, living day-to-day.
I connected her with The Shelter, the homeless shelter for women and children operated by First Assembly of God in Kahaluu who also ministered to her, calling various places around the island for her. We as a church sponsored her a couple of nights at the YMCA and The Shelter brought her supplies.
I also was re-connected with Marc Alexander who was the former Homelessness Czar for the Governor’s Office. Marc told me a story of an elderly woman who he befriended and didn’t want to move to a safer area away from a place that she called home along construction of the rail development. One day, this woman tragically was found dead and in Marc’s words, “That didn’t have to happen.” The houseless problem in Hawaii is very real. There are many of our neighbors who are living paycheck-to-paycheck. From children to kupuna.
The story of Marc’s friend and Linda are just a couple of the thousands right here in Hawaii. According to the 2025 Aloha United Way ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed) Report, 35% of Hawaii’s households are barely making ends meet for survival. Another 10% are below the federal poverty level. Combined, 45% of households in Hawaii are either living in poverty or barely surviving. That’s over 220,000 households representing over 650,000 people in the State of Hawaii.
Here’s the crazy thing: in Hawaii the average family of four spends $2,280 annually on food that is THROWN AWAY. 30% of food is thrown out. There are tens of thousands people who are hungry every day when many people have more food than they know what to do with.
This is convicting. Tammi and I are now a household of two people. And, we still shop at Costco and Sam’s Club. I’m now reflecting on how much food we throw away too. Although I’ve not weighed or counted the amount of food that we waste, I’m sure it’s far too much.
So, what does Fasting as a Practice from the Way of Jesus have to do with this? One of the main reasons to Fast is to stand with those who go hungry regularly as a normal course of their life. In other words, it’s a stand for justice. Let’s turn to Isaiah 58: 6-7, NLT
No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people.
7 Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless.
Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.
Here’s some reasons mentioned in these verses:
Free the wrongfully imprisoned.
Lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Free people from oppression.
Free people from strongholds.
Share your food with the hungry.
Provide shelter to the homeless.
Provide clothes to people who need them.
Meet the needs of family who need help.
Woah. These are pretty heavy reasons to Fast. In fact, re-read the Beatitudes in Matthew 5: 3-12 and you will find that the Kingdom of Heaven itself that Jesus talks about in what is regarded as the greatest moral teaching in the history of humankind is also reflected in Isaiah 58 centered around the spiritual Practice of Fasting.
St. Augustine’s commentary on Isaiah 58 is powerful, “Break your bread for those who are hungry, said Isaiah, do not believe that fasting suffices. Fasting chastise you, but it does not refresh the other…Do you wish your prayer to reach God? Give it two wings, fasting and almsgiving.” Woah.
As we saw in Week 3, Fasting and Prayer, are siblings that go together. But, St. Augustine adds another layer, works of mercy and service. We’ll get to this in a future Practice. But for now, let’s stay on Fasting as an important Practice to Stand with Others.
Practically, this could mean take the food that you would have eaten on your Fasting day and give it to someone in need. Or simpler, take the cost of the food you would have eaten and give that to someone in need.
Every week we recite the Greatest Commandment anchored in the shema to Love God and Leviticus to Love Our Neighbor. Fasting is a way to do exactly this. We stand in solidarity with the hungry. We share the economic value of what we Fasted with those in need. We stand against injustice. In summary, this is about righteousness of the Kingdom of Heaven.”