I should confess before I write out the rest of this that I have never been a part of a tradition that pays a lot of attention to “Lent” like some of you might. I have never “fasted” from meat on Fridays (although I have enjoyed a wonderful Friday fish fry at a Des Moines Catholic church a few times!) or Facebook or chocolate during this season. But I believe some of you do, and I feel like this blog post might have something to say to people in those traditions. Here is Isaiah 58:
58 Shout out, do not hold back!
  Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
  to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet day after day they seek me
  and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
  and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
  they delight to draw near to God.
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see?
  Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
  and oppress all your workers.
4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
  and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
  will not make your voice heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose,
  a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
  and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
  a day acceptable to the Lord?
It would seem the prophet has been charged to correct, maybe, some misunderstanding of what it is God wants from them. I find verse two particularly bothersome. Am I someone who would CLAIM to seek after God and know His ways, “as if”… That is a little concerning.
Mainly, this first section seems like just a warm up. To me it says, “if you are choosing to fast, you might want to consider just what it is that God is actually after.” I’m also very concerned about that phrase, “they ask of me righteous judgments.” I think He is saying, “Be careful what you ask for! You might get it!”
One final comment on this section; we in America have taken all the “justice” out of the word “righteous.” I have been led to undersand that word in an ancient document like this has way more to do with how we “justly treat others” than any sort of personal sin meter. And since the author moves right into the area of “justice” in the next section, that seems to ring true in this context.
6 Is not this the fast that I choose:
  to loose the bonds of injustice,
  to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
  and to break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
  and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
  and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
  and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
  the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
  you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
You likely now understand why the prophetic word of this text is so meaningful to Rog and me. According to Isaiah, the “fast” of God’s choosing INCLUDES much that might fall under a heading of “justice” – including sharing “your bread with the hungry.” And that is right in the middle of everything we believe Jesus (and Paul and John…) taught later in the New Testament. And why we do what we do under the heading Shoulder 2 Shoulder.
I did learn from a Catholic brother recently that “giving of alms” is a staple in their Lent activities! I did not know that, and based upon this prophetic word, it feels like that tradition has a better handle on this topic than others might.
Also I notice the word “kin” in here. Some who have followed me may notice I typically refer to the saints we serve in Zambia as “brothers and sisters.” I believe with my entire heart these beautiful people are my “kin.”
In the first paragraph the people were said to be complaining about not being heard. And in the second paragraph God tells them to get to work on “justice” and THEN “He will say, Here I am.” One of the reasons this has grabbed us this Lent season is just the INTENSITY of that sentiment. He isn’t even listening if we get this wrong. Isn’t that what it said?
If you remove the yoke from among you,
  the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry
  and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
  and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
  and satisfy your needs in parched places,
  and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
  like a spring of water,
  whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
  you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
  the restorer of streets to live in.
Again, in the midst of another list of ACTIONS, the prophet includes, “if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted…” Having something repeated like this makes me think the feeding of the hungry was considered an important act of worship to the God of the Jews WAY before Jesus came and said, “Blessed are the poor.” And the “needs of the afflicted” remind me of a passion for comforting the mourning, something that has been made so clear to me over the last 11 months.
13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath,
  from pursuing your own interests on my holy day;
if you call the sabbath a delight
  and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
  serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
14 then you shall take delight in the Lord,
  and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth;
I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob,
  for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
In my recent searching for understanding, I have read one theologian speak of the Jewish “sabbath” as a curb against GREED. It wasn’t so much about the specific need for a day of rest as it was about the conscious effort to STOP THE MONEY MAKING EFFORTS to smell the roses on a regular basis. That seems to fit this Lent theme.
So what am I suggesting? Certainly not that there is anything at all wrong with disciplining one’s self for a season and fasting in order to honor a tradition and possibly draw nearer to God as you understand God. But this ancient text seems to be a warning against assuming our participation in such a tradition is actually meaningful to God in some way. It may be. Or it may not be. Maybe depending upon our efforts at “justice” the rest of the year.
So could a person do the Lent self-discipline thing AND do some “justice” work at the same time?
One idea I have is if, for example, you gave up something with a COST like STARBUCKS – maybe a couple days a week or something – then there would be some actual SAVINGS that could then be SHARED “with the hungry.” We may have planned to set aside those savings for a different American indulgence after Lent, and maybe we should rethink that, and SHARE IT.
Another idea I have is if, for example, you have historically and are currently practicing this discipline during this season, that you EXTEND your “justice” ministry BEYOND this season. Obviously the hungry are hungry regardless of the season.
Anyone have other ideas? Anyone see this prophetic voice from more than 2,000 years ago differently than I have suggested?
Finally, why do I even post something like this? Over the last several years I have been on a journey where I choose to question most things. To rethink some core beliefs I have held since I was a child. You may immediately put your guard up and think that is a scary or risky outlook on life. Let’s try this:
If the beliefs I have held since I was a child are in the center of WHO and WHAT God is, don’t you think they would stand up to such questioning? Frankly, some long held beliefs have held up quite well. Others, not so much. The one that stands out so much is this one:
LOVE. As I have blogged through nearly the entire New Testament and am now catching some Old Testament passages as well, the concept of a God of LOVE feels consistent to me. That is what this passage seems to be about to me. A God of LOVE that cares about the needs of the hungry and afflicted.
Have a LOVE-filled Lent, my brothers and sisters.
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