“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Isaiah 58:6-7
Which human in history ...
· looses the bonds of wickedness?
· unties the straps that connect us to the burdens of the world?
· enables the oppressed to go free?
· and breaks everything that yokes us to the chains of sin?
Which human in history did (does) all that? The only human who was also the Son of God.
And which human in all of history ...
· shares the truest bread with the truly hungry?
· covers the nakedness that started with Adam's shame?
· when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
· and brings the homeless and poor into his eternal house?
Who? The only human who was also the Son of God.
This passage is a Messianic prefiguring of Jesus. But here's my question ... What does it mean when (essentially Jesus in this passage) says, "This is the fast I choose"?
What is a fast? It is willingly giving something up for a greater spiritual purpose. And what did Jesus willingly give up for a greater spiritual purpose? His throne. He humbled himself. He came in human flesh.
Why? To loosen the bonds of wickedness, untie the yoke of our oppression, share with us the bread of life, and invite we who were poor into his eternal home.
That was a remarkable fast for a marvelous purpose.
In Christ's Love,
a guy who wonders if and what
you've chosen as your fast
this Lenten season
(I'm fasting, and it'll surely be
imperfectly, from junkie foods)
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