Did someone ever ask your advice on something or consult you somehow and then seemingly disregarded what you told them?
God seems to feel like that in our reading from Isaiah 58 today.
The Lenten readings come out swinging in the beginning with the prophet being instructed to “tell my people their wickedness.” God goes on to say (through Isaiah), “They seek me day after day and desire to know my ways…” and says that the people complain why God does not respond to their fasting and prayers.
God says, “Do you want to know why I am not listening? It’s because your prayers and fasting don’t cause behavior change that is aligned with what I want….This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”
Giving up meat and sweets is a whole lot easier than that!
I heard a story yesterday about the families of the 17 students and staff who were killed in Parkland, FL, six years ago. They were lobbying in Washington, DC, yet again, for substantial change to prevent yet another mass shooting. After Parkland and so many other devastating shootings, everyone offers “thoughts and prayers” yet little seems to substantively change with respect to public policy around gun violence. I could hear the anger and anguish in the families’ voices as they spoke about the lack of action, and I can imagine God “feeling” the same in Isaiah’s reading.
In our brief gospel today, Jesus and his followers get critiqued because they’re NOT fasting as much (or in the same prescribed manner) as other religious folks and he is called out about it. The irony is that Jesus is DOING and EMBODYING exactly what God desires, and yet this is unrecognized by other religious folk of his time.
It gets me thinking of our times. Are there people or movements who are embodying and doing what God desires and yet are called out, unrecognized or rejected by the wider church? Are there people or movements who are embodying and doing what God desires and are unrecognized or rejected by us?
When Jesus came out of the wilderness after his 40 days of fasting, prayer and confronting the powers of death, he opened up the scroll in the synagogue and read part of a passage from Isaiah 58 that includes what we hear today (which I would encourage you to read). He knew that this was his mission because he knew God and aligned his life completely with this God. He knew that the work of God would have him moving through the world releasing those held captive, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless and resisting oppression.
In his life and work, Jesus is not just offering “thoughts and prayers,” he is ENACTING the prayers. He listened to what was on his heart, paid attention to the people in front of him and found ways to do what was needed. And this often put him in direct opposition to the religious and political authorities of his day.
It is my hope that as we enter into these 40 days of Lent, we, too, will embody and enact our prayers and fasting so that they translate into meaningful action that feeds and shelters, confronts and resists.