God's Chosen Fast -- A Homily for Ash Wednesday

Isaiah 58:1-12

Tonight we begin our Lenten journey toward Good Friday and Easter. This is a season of preparation and reflection. It’s a time to look inward and discern areas of life that we’ve not given over to God. Traditionally it’s also a season of fasting, where we seek to emulate Jesus who went into the wilderness, fasted for forty days and forty nights, and faced temptation (Matt. 4:1-10). The point of all of this reflection and fasting is that it’s designed to make us more aware of God’s presence and also more aware of the presence of our neighbors.

We begin the journey by remembering our own transgressions, for as the Psalmist reminds us, we are all sinners. As we remember these sins, we receive a mark upon our foreheads as a tangible reminder of our sinful state, and then we offer prayers of confession and receive a word of forgiveness.

Tonight I’ve chosen to focus on the word from Isaiah, which speaks to “God’s Chosen Fast.” In Matthew’s gospel we read Jesus’ words about fasting. He challenges those who make a spectacle of their fasts by presenting themselves in a rather disheveled manner so that their neighbors might know that they’re fasting (Mt. 6:16-18). But Isaiah takes a different approach. This post-exilic prophet challenges his people who have come to believe that their fasting will get God’s attention. They say: “Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” (Isaiah 58:3). Isaiah says to them – in your behavior you dishonor this practice.

Although giving up chocolate or some other pleasure might be a good spiritual discipline to adopt during this season, Isaiah calls us to a higher level of understanding. Fasting may discipline our bodies so we can give greater attention to God’s presence, but as Isaiah makes so very clear, God is less interested in our observance of certain fast days than in the way we live our daily lives as God’s people.

Isaiah says to the people, you come out and fast and yet at the same time you oppress your workers and quarrel with each other. If your fasting is accompanied by such actions, then this won’t get your voice heard by God. Instead, God has chosen another fast for us, calling on us to

“Loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every 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 them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” (Is. 58:6-7)

As Amy Oden puts it: “The fast that God seeks calls for vigilance, for justice, and generosity, day in and day out.” (WorkingPreacher.Org, 2/6/11).

Isaiah’s call for justice is echoed by a word given by the 4th century bishop and theologian Basil of Caesarea who writes:

As we take this Lenten Journey, let us consider the kind of fast that God is calling us to pursue. Isaiah writes that if we engage in this fast, we will be blessed. What is most important, we will be blessed in the knowledge that we are partners with God as moral agents in this world, working with God and empowered by God, we might pursue righteousness and justice in the world.

This is a time for us to look inwardly, to assess our path, to see if our vision is clouded by sin. It is a time to purge ourselves of those things that keep us from being all that God would have us be. The fast that God has chosen for us is one that leads to a new life and partnership with the God we know in Jesus Christ, who makes known to us God’s steadfast love.

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Troy, MI

Ash Wednesday

March 9, 2011

Are you not a robber, you who consider your own that which has been given you solely to distribute to others? This bread which you have set aside is the bread of the hungry; this garment you have locked away is the clothing of the naked; those shoes which you let rot are the shoes of him who is barefoot; those riches you have hoarded are the riches of the poor. (Quoted in Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Enuma Okoro, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, Zondervan, 2010, p. 178).

Standing Firm

Isaiah 50:4-9a "Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." That’s what you’re supposed to say when bullies pick on you and call you names. It would be nice, if names didn’t hurt, but from experience I can say – it’s not true. Names do hurt. Indeed, we’ve discovered that verbal abuse can be just as damaging to a child as physical abuse. James understood this to be true long before the psychologists caught on. He called the tongue a "restless evil, full of deadly poison." Indeed, the same tongue that we use to sing praises to God, we also use to curse those "who are made in the likeness of God." (James 3:1-12). Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, and as we wave our palm branches and triumphantly process into church the excitement begins to build. Yes, this is a time to shout out words of praise and give thanks for God’s gift of deliverance. Oh, if things would just stay like that, but if you know the story, you know that t

Walking in Love ---- Sermon for Pentecost 12B (Ephesians 4:25-5:2)

Ephesians 4:25-5:2 We return this morning to the letter to the Ephesian church. Earlier we heard the author, whether it’s Paul or someone else, talk about Jesus tearing down the walls of hostility. Then we heard him call on the Ephesians to “lead a life worthy of our calling” and to “make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” This morning Paul calls on the Ephesians to imitate God by walking “in love, as Christ has loved us.” The messages we’ve been hearing focus on what it means to be a follower of Jesus. First and foremost, that means walking in love, which involves our behavior. Last week we heard Paul call on us to live our lives “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love.” In speaking of these virtues, we see parallels with the fruit of the Spirit that Paul speaks of in the Galatian letter. According to Paul, the fruit of the Spirit includes love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfuln

Crossing Boundaries -- Sermon for Easter 6B (Acts 10)

Acts 10:44-48 We tend to live in silos where everyone looks like us, thinks like us, and believes like us. It’s a comfortable existence, but there’s little chance we’ll grow spiritually or intellectually. If this is true, then perhaps we need a nudge from the Holy Spirit to get out of our relationship ruts. Although Pentecost Sunday is two weeks from now, this morning we’ve heard a word from the Book of Acts reminding us that the Holy Spirit is the central actor in Luke’s second volume. The Book of Acts opens with the story of Jesus’ ascension. Before he departs, he commissions his followers to be his “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” However, he tells them to wait until the Holy Spirit comes to empower them before they head out into the world. The first step in fulfilling this promise took place on the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit fell on the disciples who were huddled in the upper room, empowering them to proclaim the gospel

Words of Welcome

Search This Blog