(Note: I am done with a complete New Testament reading before I finished with the Old Testament, so I chose to read Matthew for a second time.)
May the mumbling commence!
Fasting – it’s a spiritual discipline that is
misunderstood by the most mature of Christians.
It’s about more than not eating… or not doing something. It’s more than wearing the clothes of
mourning… that black suit or dress.
Through fasting, God calls us to clear ourselves so that
we might live the lives that the Lord originally intended. This is the message of Isaiah in chapter
fifty-eight. Read a passage from it
below:
“'We have fasted before you!'
they say. 'Why aren't you impressed? We have done much
penance, and you don't even notice it!'
I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with
me. You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance,
bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and
cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will
please the Lord?
No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned
and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who
need your help.” (Verses 3-7)
Fasting is not about us.
It never truly has been. Fasting
is about increasing our awareness of what God is calling us to do.
And what is God calling us to do? Fight oppression. Stop fighting and quarreling. Don’t just go through the motions.
Find out who is wrongfully imprisoned and free
them. Stop your part in oppression. Pay people who work for you fairly. Share your food with the hungry and your
clothes with the naked. Welcome the
homeless into your home. Give help to
your relatives.
These are the things that God is calling us to through
fasting. These are the things that
fasting is really about. May we practice
this type of fasting!
May we welcome into the fold those who are seeking the
Lord – regardless of their background.
Read from the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in Matthew chapter one:
Salmon was the father of Boaz (his mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (his mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (his mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
(Verses 5-6)
It’s unusual to see women in a genealogy of this time
and culture. And these women had
checkered pasts. Rahab was a prostitute
from Jericho. Ruth was a Moabite. Bathsheba was brought into the house of David
as a victim of rape. This rape led to
the death… the murder of Uriah the Hittite.
Yet each of these women are an integral part of the genealogy of
Jesus. Who are we to exclude anyone who
seeks out the Lord Jesus?
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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