They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
A year ago, I developed cellulitis on my right leg. I consulted with two doctors who gave me first an oral antibiotic, and then a stronger oral antibiotic. Neither helped. After the second prescription ran out, I decided I’d just let the illness run its course. It only got worse. Finally, I drove down to the hospital early one Monday morning and checked in. After three days of I-V antibiotics the infection was gone, but another month, more distress, and more consultations would pass before I had adjusted to the new normal of Aquaphor and compression socks.
A trip to the hospital often involves a personal crisis. A problem has finally become so troublesome, painful, and demanding that it cannot be dealt with in the usual ways. If we’re lucky the hospitalization gets us through the crisis, and we go home to learn a new way of life.
As a chaplain I often meet patients who don’t understand that principle. Some octogenarians, "found down" by family or friends in their homes, expect to return to their comfortable solitude and manage as they have for the past half-century. One fellow described his idyllic life of sitting on the veranda and smoking his pipe. “That’s all I ask!” he said, not realizing how many people and how much money it would take to maintain that fantasy. Another was ready to move to a care facility providing he can take his aging Basset hound, which also – by the way -- needs extensive medical attention.
Today’s first reading from the Prophet Isaiah describes that mindset. The people are ready to do penance on their own terms. And, having done that, they complain, “Why do we fast, and you do not see it; afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
A quarrel ensues as the Lord responds, “Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?”
You’re not listening! The first word of command throughout the Bible is “Hear!” Stop what you’re doing and listen to me. Stop what you’re thinking. Turn off your opinions. Silence your objections. Listen to me!
A devolution of problems into crises sometimes persuades people to turn back to the Lord. Realizing they have brought these problems on themselves, and that life was better when they acted on their faith in God, they begin to pray.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.