Raise your voice like a shofar!
Proclaim to my people what rebels they are,
to the house of Ya‘akov their sins.
2 “Oh yes, they seek me day after day
and [claim to] delight in knowing my ways.
As if they were an upright nation
that had not abandoned the rulings of their God,
they ask me for just rulings
and [claim] to take pleasure in closeness to God,
3 [asking,] ‘Why should we fast, if you don’t see?
Why mortify ourselves, if you don’t notice?’
“Here is my answer: when you fast,
you go about doing whatever you like,
while keeping your laborers hard at work.
4 Your fasts lead to quarreling and fighting,
to lashing out with violent blows.
On a day like today, fasting like yours
will not make your voice heard on high.
5 “Is this the sort of fast I want,
a day when a person mortifies himself?
Is the object to hang your head like a reed
and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day that pleases Adonai?
6 “Here is the sort of fast I want —
releasing those unjustly bound,
untying the thongs of the yoke,
letting the oppressed go free,
breaking every yoke,
7 sharing your food with the hungry,
taking the homeless poor into your house,
clothing the naked when you see them,
fulfilling your duty to your kinsmen!”
8 Then your light will burst forth like the morning,
your new skin will quickly grow over your wound;
your righteousness will precede you,
and Adonai’s glory will follow you.
9 Then you will call, and Adonai will answer;
you will cry, and he will say, “Here I am.”
If you will remove the yoke from among you,
stop false accusation and slander,
10 generously offer food to the hungry
and meet the needs of the person in trouble;
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your gloom become like noon.
11 Adonai will always guide you;
he will satisfy your needs in the desert,
he will renew the strength in your limbs;
so that you will be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
12 You will rebuild the ancient ruins,
raise foundations from ages past,
and be called “Repairer of broken walls,
Restorer of streets to live in.”[Complete Jewish Bible]
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The prophet is proclaiming to the people God's call and intent regarding the practice of fasting. The prophet is calling out those who claim to practice righteousness but instead are pursuing their own interests. They claim to be humble but are actually serving their own purposes and oppressing their workers. This is not the kind of fast to which God calls us. For true fasting is not done for ourselves or even for God. Rather true fasting is done for the good of others. This is God's promise to us--when we share our bread with the hungry, house the homeless and cover the naked, then our light will shine forth like the dawn. God is not bargaining with us to see if we will obey. Rather it is by repairing the breach that we see again that God is already satisfying all our needs.
O God, may we be lights shining in the darkness so that all creation may be healed. Amen.
Krista Lind
Associate Dean of Student Resources and Candidacy, Luther Seminary
Master of Religious Education , 1997
Isaiah 58:1 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God.
3 "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers.
4 Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high.
5 Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
7 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 them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.[New Revised Standard Version]
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1. Oh, wondrous image, vision fair
of glory that the church may share,
which Christ upon the mountain shows,
where brighter than the sun he glows!
2. With Moses and Elijah nigh
the'incarnate Lord holds converse high,
and from the cloud, the Holy One
says, "This is my beloved Son."
3. With shining face and bright array,
Christ deigns to manifest today
what glory shall be theirs above
who joy in God with perfect love.
4. And faithful hearts are raised on high
by this great vision's mystery;
for which in joyful song we raise
the voice of prayer, the hymn of praise.
5. O Father, with the'eternal Son,
and Holy Spirit, ever one,
we pray you, bring us by your grace
to see your glory face to face.
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The whole of the season of Epiphany is about seeing visions of God's promises made known to us in the gift of God's chosen son, our savior. The season hopes that we will hear again and again the truth for us of the angels' announcement to the shepherds: "For you is born today in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord." It is a truth, but as this hymn reminds us, it is also a mystery so wondrous and profound, that it seems only able to be captured on the lips of song and in the joyful hearts of the faithful who can only lift their voices in prayer and praise. This hymn invites us to join in the vision of joy and praise that has belonged to God's people for many centuries, and then to join in prayer that we too like those disciples on the mountain top, might be granted the gift of seeing God's glory face to face in the face of the Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
God of Glory and Grace, the wonder of your mercy reaches so far above all our imagination, and yet we pray that you will grant us just a glimpse of your grace in the face of our Savior, Jesus Christ. And that will be enough. Amen.
James L. Boyce
Emeritus Professor of New Testament and Greek, Luther Seminary
Master of Divinity, 1971
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