Friday after Ash Wednesday
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! Isaiah 58:5-9
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matthew 9:15
PietyEvery religion of any importance appreciates the spiritual value of fasting…For one thing, identification with the starving poor is a meaningless exercise without the experience behind it. But I quite agree that even an eighty-day fast may fail to rid a person of pride, selfishness, ambition and the like. Fasting is merely a prop. But as a prop to a tottering structure is of essential value, so is the prop of fasting of inestimable value for a struggling soul. Gandhi
(As quoted in The Fire of Peace: A Prayer Book, compiled and edited by Mary Lou Kownacki, OSB.
As Jesus began his public ministry in the temples of
How should we respond to the call for fasting, penance and almsgiving that we face during Lent? Today, Isaiah gives us the answer. And it is the same answer that will mark the ministry Jesus undertakes in
Matthew reminds us that Jesus did not even have his disciples fast. Rather, Jesus commissioned them to heal the sick and to take care of the poor, widows and orphans. Fasting alone is not enough unless it is paired with action.
If Jesus is concerned with the marginalized in His ministry, then we, too, should follow his lead with our actions throughout Lent and beyond. Jesus is “concerned for the poor, the prisoners, the blind, and the oppressed. He is concerned for those who other people regard as rejects, whether because of their ethnicity, their gender, their income level, or because they are disabled or ill. Whatever it is, Jesus’ love for the outsiders is one of the key themes of Luke's Gospel. We are supposed to love them too, if we are his people.”[1] (italics added)
Action
Our “agenda” for Lent must be shared with the ministry of Jesus and his agenda in
Checklist for Lent 2008
o Release those bound unjustly
o Untie the thongs of the yoke
o Set free the oppressed
o Break every yoke
o Share your bread with the hungry
o Shelter the oppressed and the homeless
o Cloth the naked when you see them
o Do not turn your back on your own
Let us make our Lent a Lent for the marginalized. The poor in the neighborhoods of
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