Then Your Light Will Shine Out in the Darkness

No, this is the kind of fasting I want. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help…. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry; and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.

Isaiah 58:6-7, 9b-10

     I really never had heard much about fasting for Lent until I moved to the South. I never had given fasting in general much thought to tell you the truth. My concept of fasting was that of a kind of starvation “diet” for a duration of time, and I like to eat way too much for that to gain my attention for long! ;o) In the past few years, I have come to realize that it is much more than that. It is giving up something – not necessarily food – that is important to you as a sacrifice, and this sacrifice in turn serves as a reminder to pray and seek God. Typically, the thing you fast is something that may either have become more important to you than God or at least rivals for your attention. At least this is my understanding. I have heard of people who have fasted everything from chocolate (ouch!) to talking to soft drinks to television. The idea is that fasting should be an honored time of growth and introspection between you and God. It is a time of humility and penance. There is no room for piety and pride. It is not a show to put on for others. Yet I can’t help but wonder if it hasn’t become – for some anyway – just SOMETHING you do this time year – like eating turkey for Thanksgiving or making New Year’s Resolutions in January. Fasting in and of itself can be a good thing, don’t get me wrong, but I have to admit I truly struggled with Lent this year. I never could decide what to fast. I kept asking myself, “Why am I doing this? Is it just because everyone else is? Is there anything to be gained from that?” Then a friend I grew up with wrote an interesting blog that really spoke to me. In it he included Isaiah 58:1-7 where God is rebuking the Israelites for piously going through the motions of fasting and then wondering why God wasn’t honoring it. Well, duh, we think. But He had something really interesting to say in the following verses that we need to pay close attention to. He told them:
    
This is the kind of fasting I want:
     1. Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
     2. lighten the burden of those who work for you.
     3. Let the oppressed go free, and
     4. remove the chains that bind people.
     5. Share your food with the hungry, and
     6. give shelter to the homeless.
     7. Give clothes to those who need them, and
     8. do not hide from relatives who need your help.

A few verses later He continues:
     9. Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
   10. Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors
   11. Feed the hungry, and
  12. help those in trouble.

     I think He was telling them “Look, your pious rituals don’t mean anything to me. I would rather see you DOING acts of service for people who are in need. I would rather see you TELLING the Good News that will free people from their bondage.”
     My friend, Danny Wiley, who is now a preacher in South Carolina, shared that he was feeling led to do just that for Lent this year. DO instead of sacrifice. Certainly there is a place for fasting if it is done correctly, but it is so easy to reach a point in our busy lives where we just DO church. It is Sunday morning so we get up and go to church because we are supposed to. We take communion because we are supposed to. We sing the hymns because we are supposed to … say grace because we are supposed to … All of these actions are good things to do, but what are we missing out on because we have become so busy we just mindlessly go through the motions? What would happen in our lives – in the lives of our church – in the lives of our community – in the lives of our families - if we woke up and once again became truly invested in our relationship with God? How powerful could I, as a child of God, be if I wholeheartedly and sincerely committed my heart and soul to Him daily in EVERYTHING I do?
     Now, I am not sitting here judging everyone who is currently fasting for Lent - quite the contrary. My goal is to share with you what God has shown me during my journey thus far. And because I don’t want anyone to get hung up on this particular issue and not be able to focus on the message, I am not going to share whether or not I chose to fast this year. I am, however, going to share that I have committed to follow God’s directive to GO, SERVE, and TELL, knowing that I must also invest all of my heart and energy in a deeper relationship with God. I have also laid claim to His promise that by doing so, He will be there with me, guiding me every step of the way!

Lord, I give you my heart completely and unconditionally. I want to have a deeper, more intimate relationship with you. I don’t just want to go through the motions of “doing” the Christian walk. I want to live my life so that my light will shine out in the darkness as bright as the sun. This can only happen if I am reflecting You, Lord. Open my heart to your Words. Open my eyes to the needs of the people around me. Open my ears to the silent cries of those who are hurting. I am afraid I fail in this area way too often. Help me to slow down and listen to Your voice. Help me not to see as the world sees or hear as the world hears but to be genuine and faithful at all times. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your grace and for your unconditional love. Thank you for your patience and for your guidance in a very confusing world.