Isaiah 58:1-11 Isaiah 58 is in the section of Isaiah called “Third Isaiah”, which means it’s after the Babylonian exile when the Israelites were back living in Israel. After decades of living oppressed and in exile, they are finally home. Except…it feels like anything but home. The people living in the Promised Land weren’t born there. They’ve never known it as home and the Babylonians wreaked havoc when they left, so buildings are broken and lands were destroyed. While the people were glad to be free from the Babylonian rule, they were despondent and ached for the Israel their parents and grandparents had
spoken of.
To restore things to their former glory, the people fasted. They fasted to reinforce their prayers and fasted to bolster their worship. The prophet Zechariah who proclaimed the word of God in the same time-period tells us that the Israelites fasted the 5th and 7th months of every year for 70 years. They were serious about getting things back to the way they were. And they saw fasting as a primary means for accomplishing that.
Enter our passage for today. The people saw themselves as righteous. Deserving of a better home. They also saw themselves as the victims, after all, they lived in exile for decades. But God had a different view of what was happening. In today’s passage, we hear a dialogue of sorts between God and God’s people through the prophet. God tells the prophet: “Tell them and make sure they can hear you. Say it loud and say it clearly. Tell my people of their rebellion and their sins.”
Now the people haven’t heard the indictment from God yet, but they are bitter and crying out… “Why don’t you listen to us? Why don’t you care? We fast and we sacrifice but you ignore us.”
And then God lets it rip. I don’t want your show of piety. You sacrificed and you fasted, but then you acted like a jerk to those around you. You fast, but you still follow your agenda. You don’t bother to listen to mine. You exploit your workers. Your fasting ends with bickering. And some of you even throw punches. Does that strike you as holiness? As righteous behavior? Because I missed it. You’re so caught up in what you want that you missed what I want.
• I want you to break the chains of injustice.
• I want you to set the oppressed free.
• I want you to share your food with the hungry.
• I want you to give clothes to the naked.
• I want you to see the pain other people face and not turn a blind eye.
And you know what? If you do those things
• THEN your light will breakthrough
• THEN your healing will appear
• THEN your righteousness will lead the way and God’s glory will follow.
• THEN you’ll call on me and I’ll answer.
If you abolish oppression and slander and hateful speech, give of yourself to fill the needs of others, then your light will shine in the darkness.
So often we think our spiritual practices are for our sake, but they’re not—there for the sake of helping others. Yes, they affect us and shape us—but that shaping should lead us to deep compassion for others and when we have compassion we are compelled to act and when we act things change. God cares if our practices of faith lead to a better world where hungry bellies are filled by the meals we prepare, and cold bodies are warmed by the jackets and blankets we offer. God wants a world that is different because of us.
Acts of faithfulness, spiritual practices like fasting, prayer and worship aren’t deemed unworthy or invalid—unless they become empty actions that allow us to remain calloused, bitter, or selfish. God has the greatest investment in how we treat other people.
I have to be honest—I’ve known God calls us to justice, but never focused on this passage to hear it in relation to our acts of fasting. The Israelites were treating fasting as their power to get God to act on their behalf. But God came back strong to remind them that the acts are worthless in and of themselves if they don’t draw us into more compassionate and just actions on behalf of others.
So, as we look at fasting as the spiritual discipline for the week ahead, we have to be mindful of God’s call for justice. Fasting isn’t meant to be self-serving. It’s not so we can feel good about ourselves. Or simply so we can be close to God. Or to know we’re holy because we sacrificed something hard. Fasting is meant to help us build community and help others. Being close to God requires caring for God’s people. So, as you think about how you might fast, ask God, “How can this sacrifice help me be an agent of change?” What do I need to give up so I can be more compassionate? Moved to make a change in this world? Of creating justice? And breaking down barriers?
There are certainly plenty of people who are hungry, cold, oppressed and suffering in our world. Are we doing something? Are we working hard for their situation to be better? Are we sacrificing our comfort so that they might be served? If not, maybe we’re not loving God as much as we’d like to think…maybe, like the Israelites, we’re doing the things without the right attitude and something needs to change.
And if we do, THEN our light will shine. Then we’ll cry out and God will hear us. THEN the world will become God’s kingdom here on earth…but it won’t happen without us.