Isaiah 58
Be Still: As you have blessed us, Lord, show us how we can bless others. Amen
Read: Isaiah 58
‘Behold in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure and oppress all your workers……..Is this not the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness and to undo the straps of the yoke….. Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn…. your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard….. if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. (vv3,6-8 & 10)
Encounter: ‘Ye who now would bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing’*
Yesterday we read of angels appearing to shepherds, who were needy and not well regarded. In this season, we receive multiple letters from UK charities seeking funding to support the needy and homeless. Today’s passage emphasises God’s concern for the poor and marginalised. Isaiah challenges those who religiously fast but continue to exploit and mistreat other people.
Isaiah states that the ‘fasting’ God approves of, is to care for the hungry, poor, homeless and afflicted in our own community. This implies more than donating to a charity once a year but uncomfortably more like something for personal action - ‘bring the homeless poor into your house, when you see the naked, cover him… pour yourself out for the hungry…..’
My wife and I felt a calling in the late 70’s to create a drop-in/care centre in the mining village where we lived. The impetus for it was this passage from Isaiah. Unfortunately, we were unable to sell our own property in order to buy a place to do this, but we have never lost this vision over the years.
In the New Testament, we see the early church sharing resources to support the needy (Acts 2:45), appointing seven men ‘full of the Spirit and wisdom’ (Acts 6:3) to ensure widows were properly supported and urging the different churches to raise money for the Christians in Jerusalem. Apostle James, in his letter, directs his readers to demonstrate their faith by looking after those in need (James 2:14-16).
Isaiah declares that as we care for others, we too will be blessed (repeated twice).
Apply: What does this mean for us today? Well, individually we should be alert to people who need support and provide what we can. In our own churches, we must make care for needy local people a priority.
Devote: Help us to heed your call, Lord, to care in practical ways for others in need. Give us eyes to see them with your compassion.
* Carol: Good King Wenceslas