The answer
Our Lord Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Moses and Elijah, who both fasted for forty days. Thus does the Lord call us to partake with them of their fast, that our fasts may be sanctified by His divine fast, and that the Lord of Glory may be transfigured within our hearts as on Mount Tabor, and so His Kingdom may be established within us, according to His divine promise: “the Kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21). We fast that we may be immersed in the vision of God and communion with Him, saying, “See, we have left all and followed You” (Luke 18:28). On Mount Tabor St. Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here” (Matt. 17:4). Truly, poor is the one who fasts and is not concerned with seeing God and conversing with Him, for this person suffers from hunger of both body and spirit.
St. Basil the Great says, “By fasting, Elijah became a spectator of a great spectacle [wonder]. For after he purified his soul through a forty-day fast, he was deemed worthy of seeing the Lord in the cave on Horeb, insofar as it is possible for a human being to see the Lord (see 1 Kings 19:8–13). While fasting, he restored the child to the widow, fasting granting him power over death (see 1 Kings 17:17–24).”417
Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty
Notes
417 St. Basil of Caesarea, On Fasting and Feasts 1.6 (PP 50:61).