Isaiah 58:1-9
Matthew 9:14-15
Is not this the sort of fast that pleases me
– it is the Lord who speaks –
to break unjust fetters and
undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and break every yoke,
to share your bread with the hungry,
and shelter the homeless poor,
to clothe the man you see to be naked
and not turn from your own kin?
Whenever I hear this reading from Isaiah I am struck by the fact that humanity has always struggled to act with integrity. We so easily say one thing and do another. I am pulled up short when I examine my own life and remember the times when things were done for show and my motivations were questionable. Lent gives me the chance to own those times.
Isaiah’s words ring so true today. We don’t have to look far to find ‘unjust fetters’ and ‘the homeless poor.’ In the centuries that have passed since Isaiah preached, the human story has unfolded in triumph and tragedy. Each generation has the chance to take stock and to work for change. We are familiar now with what theologians call ‘structural sin’. There are concrete things that we can do to highlight this. This is important. But of equal importance is our own inner work.
Are there those whom we ‘oppress’ with our attitudes?
Are there those whom we have burdened with a yoke?
Are there people with whom we refuse to share the ‘bread’ of our time, our love?