6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I’m interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’
9-12 “If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
Reflection
This passage is one that I will always associate with the Youth Ministry of Medford UMC. It was the focus of one of the first youth service weeks I experienced when I was appointed at Medford. If you remember it as I do, thank you for giving of your time, energy and money.
For me, the golden nugget in today’s devotion is in verse 58:6 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice.” I admit that fasting has never been a part of my healthy living tools. I just never experienced it. And, I have never been one for going to the doctor unless I am really, really sick. That all changed in 2013 when my doctor at the time noticed an abnormality in my annual blood test. That began my journey of discovery to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle. I have now had thirteen years and five different oncologists to guide me on that journey.
Have you ever experienced fasting for doctor’s orders? Fasting is described as the voluntary or involuntary abstinence from some or all food, drink, or both for a specific time period. Have you ever needed to cleanse your body of everything that is bad for you by going 24 hours or longer with water only? That is one of the ways that doctors can discover what mysteries are going on in a patient’s daily living. The water cleanse gives the doctor a list of numbers telling her or him what component is high, low or right where it should be. Every time I have blood taken, I puzzle over the pages and pages of test results and then wait for the doctor to analyze the numbers and decide what I need to do next. I rely on the doctor to translate the test results and for discovering the right, the healthy way to live, what to eat, etc.
Today’s scripture reminds me of this experience as I have frequent fasting blood work. Isaiah 58:6-11 are our “Doctor’s Orders” with the Great Spirit as our “Great Physician.” It is when we take the Great Physician’s advice that we can make a difference in the world we live in as well as in every person whose life we can impact. What God calls the people to do is not a job description, but a Doctor’s prescription. You can see that in verse 8 where it says that if you act this way — if you follow the Doctor’s prescription of fasting — “Your recovery — your healing — will speedily spring forth.” Your life will turn around at once. If you trust the Doctor, and show this by obeying the Great Physician’s instructions, you and all Creation will become healthier. Trust God’s grace and follow this prescription, and we will be mightily blessed.
by Kathleen Stolz
For Pondering and Prayer
There are many images in this passage from Isaiah. Re-read it, slowly, as you allow
yourself to envision the world you live in, especially the communities in which you have
an influence.
**How could your world be improved?
**What prescription for healing might the Great Physician be calling you to do
differently?
Prayer: O Great Physician, each of us has a role to play in this world in which we live. Some of
us are parents, and grandparents, and we are all your children. We have a responsibility
to take care of the world we have been given and to leave it in better condition than we
have found it. Help us be better citizens of your world. With your help, let us become
like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. Amen.
