Opening Prayer
Almighty God, who created us in your image: Grant us grace fearlessly to contend against evil and to make no peace with oppression; and, that we may reverently use our freedom, help us to employ it in the maintenance of justice in our communities and among the nations, to the glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Isaiah 58:1-11
Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to My people their transgression, to the House of Jacob their sin. To be sure, they seek Me daily, eager to learn My ways. As if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the laws of its God, They ask of Me righteous judgements, they are eager for the nearness of God. "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 your workers. Because you fast in strife and contention, and you strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like bulrush? And lying in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call that a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
No, this is the fast I desire: to unlock the bonds of injustice, and untie the cords of lawlessness, to let the oppressed go free; to break every yoke. It is to share your bread with the hungry, and to bring the homeless poor into your home; when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin. Then your light shall burst forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your Vindication shall march before you, the presence of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then, when you call, the LORD will answer; when you cry, He will say: Here I am.
If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 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 will be like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your thirst in parched places, and give strength to your bones. Then you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
Reflection:
Too often during times of struggle and discomfort, our world becomes small. We focus more and more on ourselves, and ignore the lives of those around us. During these times, we cut ourselves off from our communities, regardless of whether we have been ordered to or not. We ignore the inescapable network of mutuality that feeds us, and instead examine solely ourselves. We wish for God to lessen our pain and redeem us into the lives we lived before the crisis, forgetting to ask for the healing of those on the street next to us. This is doubly true of how the wealthy act during crisis of injustice.
Isaiah knew this well, when the wealthy fast, they do so only to draw the attention of God. They wish for the LORD to bless them, and only them. While the wealthy are begging to God for salvation, they are simultaneously oppressing their workers. In our society, there is more concern for the wealthy than there is for the poor. Why are the wealthy declared "job creators" while the poor are vilified as lazy? Why is the crime of tax evasion considered running a "smart business" while receiving welfare is considered to be theft? Why is there more focus on the destruction of a Macy's than on the death of Breonna Taylor? Why is there more criticism of the violence of protestors than there is of the violence of the police? Only one of those two is a government organization which should normally be held accountable for misconduct.
In this scripture, Isaiah calls upon us to fast for each other. Fasting for each other means to give up what we have in-excess and use it to provide for the needs of others. It is allowing our hearts to break together. We are called to take from our own resources and share them with those around us, thereby lessening our own provisions and causing ourselves to fast alongside those who already have no choice but to fast when food is low. This is what justice and equity look like: taking from our given (not earned) advantages in order to fulfill the needs of the oppressed.
Isaiah challenges us to reach outside of ourselves during times of crisis. Instead of making a struggle be about ourselves and our small world, we can make it about others. This can be done in various ways, like depriving ourselves from some leisure time, in order to march and protest. It can be finding time to be amongst those from a different economic class or racial background, and learn about what their needs and struggles are. When the prophet says to share your bread, house the homeless poor, break the bonds of injustice, and clothe the naked, he means all these activities quite literally. The hour is at hand, now is the time to act in this manner.
Closing Prayer
Father of mercy, O turn this day in lovingkindness and tender mercy to the earnest supplications which we bring before Thee. May Thy presence not depart from us. O God, let us complete in peace the number of our years. Help us, O God of deliverance, to bear ourselves faithfully and blamelessly during the time of this life. And when our end draws nigh and we depart this world, be Thou with us, and may our souls be bound up in the bond of life with the souls of all the righteous who are ever with Thee. Amen.
