Yesterday I attended Mass. The first reading was from Isaiah. I love Isaiah. The reading was from Isaiah 58:1-9. It really resonated with me and that reading is one of my favorites in the entire Bible. It really hits the nail on the head with regard to fasting. It’s Lent and many people are giving up food or something they enjoy. What is the point in all this? There is often a disconnect or at least there was for me over the fasting. A number of years ago I was involved with a young man who really took fasting seriously. This guy actually did a juice fast of over forty days. He was a spiritual seeker. He was really looking for God’s will. For me fasting is about getting closer to God’s will. A friend of mine says that he is giving up “bunjee jumping” for Lent. I love his wit and it resonates because so often there is a disconnect between fasting and what results.
The part of Isaiah that really grabs me is, “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. Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.”
In the Secular Franciscan Rule, we are asked to “seek to encounter the living and active person of Christ in their brothers and sisters, in Sacred Scripture, in the Church, and in liturgical activity”. Following Isaiah is an encounter with the active person of Christ in Sacred Scripture. What drives me as Franciscan is attempting to follow this Christ that I encounter in Sacred Scripture. Peace.