March 7, 2014
Our Amazing Capacity for Missing the Point
Isaiah could not have beep popular with the religious and pious. He rails agains there concept of fasting and reorients it towards a complete attitude change. Rohr is amazed that we could ever miss the point.
"Isaiah says explicitly that God prefers another kind of fasting which changes our actual lifestyle and not just punishes our body. (The poor body is always the available scapegoat to avoid touching our purse, our calendar, or our prejudices.) Isaiah makes a very upfront demand for social justice, non-aggression, taking our feet off the necks of the oppressed, sharing our bread with the hungry, clothing the naked, letting go of our sense of entitlement, malicious speech, and sheltering the homeless. He says very clearly this is the real fast God wants!”
I have been reading some of the BLOGS and sermons from Nadia Bolz-Weber. She is a self-described sarcastic Lutheran. While she is clearly not orthodox, I find what she says to be thought provoking. She suggested 40 ideas for keeping Lent and they are good ideas, many of them would fit in with Isaiah’s ideas on a good fast.
Wuote from Rohr, Richard (2010-12-27). Wondrous Encounters: Scripture for Lent (p. 18). St. Anthony Messenger Press. Kindle Edition.
