I am looking forward to experiencing a productive Lent. My plan is to be open to the around me to improve and participate in the Kingdom of God in my daily life.
Isaiah 58 gives a roadmap to achieve that end. The first thing it tells us is that we are not as good as we think we are. See, you fast only to quarrel and fight and to stridke with a wicked fist! Do not fast as you do today to make your voice heard on high! We haove a button on our computers that refreshes our page. Our souls need the same refresh.
So the object is feed the hungry and break yokes of oppression. My first observation is that we should be doing these things all the time and every day. Take for example food banks which are full during Thanksgiving and Christmas and end up not having enough storage in the short term but go wanting at other time of the year and have to send out an appeal for more food and money to replenish their supplies.
I work part time in a Deli. You wouldn’t think it but because humans are involved there is drama. Human nature and personalities can sometime cause hard feelings. Sometime bosses are unfair and sometimes their workers are unfair. See, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits and drive all your laborers.
My grandson, Zac, is visiting my wife, Anna, and myself this week. It has been a joy to visit with this young man. During his visit he was overcharged twice by two different employees at two different stores. They were clearly careless mistakes and only caused us a second trip back to one of the stores to correct. Mistakes are frustrating but part of life.
Isaiah also speaks of family. Not turning your back on your own flesh. Sometimes we have discord in families and we end up not talking or fighting. Isaiah is suggesting that we patch up those differences and talk and love them where that family member is. We may not like them but we need to patch up our family relationships that are in trouble.
The things that Isaiah is saying is to love God and prove this by loving our neighbors. Yes family, yes your boss and yes the homeless.
Stop and think for a moment!
Shouldn’t we be doing these things anyway?
Just like the example of the food bank, the need to fast is there for us on a daily basis. During this Lent I plan on saying an extra Rosary a day for anyone whom God thinks may need it the most. Keeping the words of Isaiah close to me, I hope to love my relatives more, love the homeless more and do my best to be fair in business dealings with others.
The words of Isaiah 58 will be heard many times over the next few weeks. Nonetheless, Lent is not just about giving up meat or ashes on our foreheads. It is about our relationship to others which will improve our relationship to God. These actions are not just for the Holy season of Lent.
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please pray for Cancer victims and their Caregivers. Pray for Peace in the Ukraine. Pray for the earthquake victims.
