Repairer of Walls
Every year around Lent many of us fast. Sometimes it's a meal a day, other times it might be a specific item of food and, more recently, there have been suggestions about fasting from things other than food, like social media. My usual practice is to give up coffee and tea for Lent, drinking only Rooibos for that forty day period as we led up to the celebration of Easter. The principle around fasting is to give up something that is not harmful in order to focus on the things of God. The idea that those who fast should use the time usually given to eating that particular food or that enjoying that meal or spending time on social media, for prayer. The nudge that comes from hunger or habit should spur one into prayer, so prayer and fasting always go together.In the days of the prophet Isaiah, the people of Israel had very specific rules and regulations about fasting, but the prophet alerts them to something significant: all their fasting and prayer did not seem to bring on them the blessings they hoped would come to them. They wondered why it seemed as if God didn't take notice of their diligence and devotion. The prophet answers them, and, as with most of the times when the prophet Isaiah addresses issues, he doesn't pull his punches. The problem is that their fasting has become an end in itself, he tells them; their spiritual practices have not led to a change in the society: they long for the fasting period to end so they can get on with their lives; they exploit the poor and needy; the hungry go unfed and the homeless remain unsheltered.
He gives them a clear idea about the kind of fasting that God requires. The fast should not only be about giving up something in order to pray, it should, in addition, translate into actions that impact the community. Fasting, in other words should have both an element of disciplined denial and an element of communal caring. It's not that the people shouldn't fast -- and even Jesus said that his disciples would do so -- it's that our fasting should not only be about what we give up, but also, almost more importantly, about what we do for our neighbours as a result, especially those who have less than we do.
Then we will be known as those who repair what others have broken and restore that which others have stolen. As with the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man, fasting should open our eyes to the needs around us and spur us into action to do something to meet at least some of those needs.
| Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. (Isaiah58:9-12) |
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Peter Langerman is husband to Sally, father to Jaimee (and father-in-law to Tim), Natasha, Emma and Gabby. He loves to walk, cook, read, shout at the TV when the Boks are playing and serves the saints at Durbanville. Lift him in prayer on the 29th October when he will receive a kidney transplant from his brother Jonathan.
