Friday after Ash Wednesday
(Isaiah 58:1-9a; Matthew 9:14-15)
In the days of perennial Friday abstinence, preachers often
ranted about people eating lobster. What
kind of a sacrifice is that? They would say.
They had a point. Lobster is rich
and tasty, hardly a hardship. The
criticism echoes the one offered in today’s reading from the Book of the
Prophet Isaiah.
The writer did not live toward the end of the eighth century
B.C. like the prophet most of us think of when we hear the name Isaiah. He lived and prophesized two centuries later. The Jews had not long returned from the
Babylonian exile. They were rebuilding
Jerusalem and wanted to live the traditions of their ancestors. They fasted and prayed for God’s
assistance. Speaking for God, the
prophet tells the people that their fasts and prayers are in vain if they do
not practice justice. God told their ancestors
to pay workers fairly and to directly assist the hungry and homeless.
In Lent especially but also throughout the year, we should
heed the prophet’s words. Our prayers
and fasting must be oriented to caring for those in need. We must support a society where everyone has
both material and spiritual resources to live with dignity.
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