Today's Scripture
Fasting – Isaiah 58:3-9
TODAY’S READING SCHEDULE: Isaiah 54-58
‘Why have we fasted,’ they say,
‘and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?’
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
What does this passage mean to me/us
Fasting is known as one of the Means of Grace to grow closer to God. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, required his followers to fast a day, every week.
Fasting shows how we are a finite being. We think that we can do everything, but the reality is that we cannot survive without the food that sustains us. We remember our limitations and humble ourselves to rely on the Lord.
Through prayer, seeking for the kingdom, we learn that we are participating in the mission of the world being restored, justice flowing. (v. 6)
Through fasting, we also share with the poor, as we redirect the resources that could have been used for our own pleasure. (v. 7)
And God promises, “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I” (v. 8-9)
Prayer
Lord, as we live in this world, help us to follow your ways to see your kingdom come. As we commit to the holiness your requrie, help us to see your presence in our lives. In Christ name, AMEN.
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