“Why have we fasted, but You did not see it?”

  • Given the dis­cus­sion below about some of the ways that we new and not-so-new con­verts can get things wrong, I thought today’s lec­tionary read­ing from Isa­iah was inter­est­ing. And maybe a lit­tle com­fort­ing, at least inso­far as it lets you know that the fight isn’t some­thing new. How do we exhibit right­eous­ness with­out becom­ing self-righteous? Appar­ently God’s Cho­sen Peo­ple didn’t always know either.

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    “Cry aloud with strength, and spare not: lift up your voice like a trum­pet and declare to My peo­ple their sins, and to the house of Jacob their lawlessness.

    “They seek Me day by day, and desire to know My ways. As a peo­ple who did right­eous­ness, and did not for­sake the judg­ment of their God, they now ask Me about right­eous judg­ment and desire to draw near to God, say­ing, ‘Why have we fasted, but You did not see it? Why have we hum­bled our souls, but You did not know?’

    “Because in the days of your fasts, you seek your own wills, and mis­treat those under your author­ity. If you fast for con­dem­na­tion and quar­rels, and strike a hum­ble man with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do today, so your voice may be heard in crying?

    “I did not choose this fast, and such a day for a man to hum­ble his soul; nor if you should bow your neck like a ring and spread sack­cloth and ashes under your­self, could you thus call such a fast acceptable.

    “I did not choose such a fast,” says the Lord: “Rather, loose every bond of wrong­do­ing, untie the knots of vio­lent deal­ings, can­cel the debts of the oppressed; and tear apart every unjust con­tract. Break your bread for the hun­gry, and bring the home­less poor into your house. If you see a naked man, clothe him, nor shall you dis­re­gard your off­spring in your own household.

    “Then your light shall break forth as the morn­ing, and your heal­ing shall spring forth quickly. Your right­eous­ness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall cover you.”

    – Isa­iah 58:1–9


    Related posts:

    1. On Ques­tion­ing God
    2. Pub­li­can or Pharisee?
    3. How will it be with us in the future life?
    4. The way there
    5. More on the Mor­mon thing

    April 16th, 2008 | Grace | 3 Comments |

3 Responses and Counting...

  • s-p 04.16.2008

    Those Prophets think they know everything…where is all that stuff in the CANONS?

  • DebD

    Thank you Grace.

  • Grace

    s-p:
    I know. These guys have a lot of nerve. They’re def­i­nitely not very Orthodox.

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