Isaiah hears the voice of the Lord telling him to cut loose like a tent-meeting revivalist preacher: “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” (Isaiah 58:1). And yet, it’s always been true that most of us think of ourselves as basically good; especially those of us who are religious are probably not going to appreciate Isaiah lumping us in with all those other sinners.

Isaiah’s sermon offers us God’s voice, commenting on the people’s eagerness for pious worship: “day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways … they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God” (58:2). Yet there is a severe disconnect between the songs of praise they sing and the lives they lead: “as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God” (58:2). Isaiah’s sermon also gives voice to the people’s lament that even though they worship with heartfelt devotion, God has not solved all their problems: “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” (58:3).

At its best, fasting is the expression of deep commitment; but it seems that on the days that they fasted, the people of Isaiah’s day went on oppressing their workers, quarreling and fighting (58:3-5). Our lives are never as pure as we would like to believe: our devotion to God and our self-centeredness come all mixed together.

The fasting is a good idea, because fasting is worship that lasts all day long, instead of just during the time we’re in the sanctuary. But the fasting God has in mind will be expressed in freeing people who are bound in servitude, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, providing clothing for those in rags (58:6-7); it is when we make a lifestyle of this, Isaiah insists, that we will experience God’s help, guidance, and strength (58:9-11).

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That message seems pretty clear, O Lord. It is my own stubbornness in serving my own interests, and my own resistance to caring for the poor, that makes you turn your face away from me. Grant me a repentant heart; give me the grace to take one specific action this day to provide assistance for those in need.

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