Thus says the Lord GOD: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. They seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God. “Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD? 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. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
A lot of people think that Lent is about giving something up. They view it as that time of the year when they have to stop their urge to have something they like just because that’s what they’re supposed to do. In this reading, the Lord is trying to tell us that that’s not the kind of fasting he wants. What he wants is for us to do what we can to help our fellow man, to be just, generous, and kind. He wants for us to be better Christians, and ultimately better people. Giving
something up for Lent is a way to keep that in mind; a reminder to do what you can to be the best that you can be. When we do this, God heals us and we please him. When we do the right thing and help others, he will be there to protect us and to shelter us.
CHALLENGE: find someone in need today and be generous to them. Maybe you'll need to be generous with your time, your money, your listening, your patience, whatever. Just be generous.
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