Isaiah 58: 6-11
The kind of fasting I want is this:
Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.
“Then my favour will shine on you like the morning sun, and your wounds will be quickly healed. I will always be with you to save you; my presence will protect you on every side. When you pray, I will answer you. When you call to me, I will respond.
“If you put an end to oppression, to every gesture of contempt, and to every evil word; if you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon. And I will always guide you and satisfy you with good things. I will keep you strong and well. You will be like a garden that has plenty of water, like a spring of water that never goes dry.
Read with Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
In the darkest times, in this last week and days, we have seen the difference care and concern, generosity and courage, has indeed brought to the traumatised and grieving.
God does not call for tokenism, but living faith in action, words of meaning, just actions, loving kindness, humble generosity. This is no simple commitment we make.
Then, the light that radiates within us, will warm us in the midst of the coldest experiences, fill us in the emptiness of trauma, and energise us with love when hope seems out of reach.
Healing and revitalisation of heart and soul, of mind and body. When you pray, God will answer.
Romans 8:22
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Prayer – Water and Wind. We Weep With The Earth
Wild waters ranging beyond banks and beaches,
Arid and thirsting tessellated clay pans,
Torrents, forging erratic rivers and
Empty billabongs, dusty with desire.
Relentless havoc or neglecting habitations,
A call of passion and a cry of poverty.
Now, God, we hear and feel and know and grieve
Desperate cries and calls we must not ignore,
Willing us to listen and respond
In a compassionate embrace of all creation.
Now, God, we listen and respond and think and understand,
Divesting ourselves of ignorance while opening ourselves to the pain.
We weep with the earth.
1 Thessalonians 5:6
So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.
© Rev Anne Hewitt 02/03/2022
This reflection & prayer may be shared as long as the original writer is credited.