Isaiah 58
1 CLAIM in voice, don't stop; raise your voice like a trumpet, and announce to my people their rebellion, and to the house of Jacob their sin. 2 That they look for me every day, and they want to know my ways, as people who had worked justice, and who had not left the right of their God: ask me the rights of justice, and they want to approach God. 3 Why, they say, we fast, and you ignored; We humble our souls, and you didn't understand? Behold, on the day of your fast you find what you want, and you all demand your property. 4 Behold, for strife and debate you fast, and to hurt with your fist wickedly; Do not fast like today, so that your voice may be heard on high. 5 Is such a fast that I chose, that by day the man afflicts his soul, that he hunches his head like a reed, and makes a bed of sack and ash? Will you call this fasting, and a pleasant day for Jehovah? 6 Is it not before the fast that I chose, to untie the bonds of impiety, to undo the beams of oppression, and to let the broken go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not that you break your bread with the hungry, and the wandering poor goals at home; that when you see the naked, cover it, and do not hide from your flesh? 8 Then your light will be born as the dawn, and your health will be seen ready; Your justice will go before you, and the glory of Jehovah will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the Lord has heard you; you will cry, and he will say: Here I am. If you remove the yoke from between you, extend your finger, and speak vanity; 10 And if you pour out your soul to the hungry, and quench the afflicted soul, your light will be born in darkness, and your darkness will be like noon; 11 And Jehovah will always shepherd you, and in the droughts your soul will be full, and your bones will gain weight; and they will be as an irrigation garden, and as a water spring, whose waters are never lacking. 12 And those of you will build the ancient deserts; the foundations of generation and generation will raise: and you will be called gate repairman, road restorer to inhabit. 13 If you take away your foot from the Sabbath, to do your will on my holy day, and to the Sabbath you will call delights, holy, glorious of Jehovah; and venerate him, not doing your ways, neither seeking your will, nor speaking your words: 14 Then you will delight in Jehovah; and I will bring you up on the heights of the earth, and I will give you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it.
King James Version 1602 (public domain).
Comments
God asks “Is such a fast that I chose, that by day man afflicts his soul, that he hunches his head like a reed, and makes a bed of sack and ash? Will you call this fasting, and a pleasant day for Jehovah? ”
With this I remember a scene from Godfather III, where Cardinal Lambert shows Michael Corleone, a stone that is in a fountain with water and hits it until it breaks, when it breaks it shows him that it is dry inside, before which, he reflects: “Observe this stone, it has been in the water, for a very long time, however, the water has not penetrated them, look, the same thing has happened to men in Europe, for centuries they have been surrounded by Christianity, but Christ has not penetrated them, Christ does not live in them ”.
This is how many followers of Christ act, we make evident manifestations of our cristrianism, but this does not penetrate our hearts, as we see it in the “Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican” where the Pharisee displayed the fulfillment of the commandments and boasted of it in prayer, while the publican for feeling unworthy, he did not even dare to look up and Jesus tells us: “I tell you that he went down to his house justified before the other; because anyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ”
Thus we have that fasting cannot be an instrument to please God, if it is not accompanied by a repentance for the sins committed and does not serve to propitiate the abandonment of sin, since as long as we do not abandon love for sins, as long as we do not leave aside pride, greed, lust and all kinds of negative passions, our samples of faith will not be pleasing to the Lord.
It is preferable to show generosity and mercy than to be punishing one's own body, even inflicting bodily harm, which, finding us in sin, becomes vain and cruel.
How many times we have not witnessed that the one who gives public signs of being fair and generous, in his private life, with his family, his employees or close people, behaves in a way that is too bigoted, cruel and harassing with these people, which , it only shows a hypocritical and incongruous attitude.
Since the commandment that I can consider that concentrates all others is a commandment of love, the one Jesus gave us when he said "Love one another as I have loved you", because if you love your brother, Don't offend him, don't steal him, don't kill him.
We must repent of our sins, make sincere fasting, perform works that show our love for our neighbor, before fasting, so that our sacrifice is pleasing to God, since this love for our neighbor will make us gratified in the eyes of our Lord.