Friday 7 March 2025 - The Lord will answer

Friday 7 March 2025

Today is Friday the 7th of March, in the season of Lent. Bifrost Arts sing, ‘O God, Will You Restore Us?’. O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? I will hear what God proclaims The Lord our God proclaims peace Kindness and truth shall meet Justice and peace shall kiss O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? Here is the fast that I choose To loosen the bonds of the oppressed and break their chains Let righteousness and justice go out before you Then You will call out and I will hear O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? Near indeed is His salvation to those who call on Him He will incline His ear and hear their prayers Truth shall spring out of the earth And justice will rain down from heaven O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? The Lord will guide you on a righteous path His vindication will shine down forth as the dawn Your people will be called repairers of broken walls Making straight the path to proclaim His reign O God, will You restore us And grant us Your salvation? O God, will You restore us? Please grant us Your salvation Today’s reading is from the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 58:1-9 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practised righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’ Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: 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? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. In today's reading, the Prophet Isaiah challenges us to consider that fasting does not just mean refraining from food and drink but is about how one's behaviour impacts on the lives of others. 'to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free'... This, we hear, is the kind of fasting God prefers. Fasting is connected to liberating the oppressed. How do you feel about this? '...to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house...'. Fasting is also connected to sharing with the hungry and sheltering the homeless. Would you like to reflect on how this could be a reality in your own life? As you listen to the passage again, why not consider how the passage might shape your own approach to fasting. Isaiah 58:1-9 Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practised righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God. ‘Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?’ Look, you serve your own interest on your fast-day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: 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? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. In these closing moments, reflect on the moments in your prayer where you have felt consoled, close to God’s heart of love and light. Reflect too, on the moments where you felt drained, weighed down or far from God’s heart. Speak to God about these moments or anything else that is staying with you... You have given all to me To you, Lord, I return it Everything is Yours Do with it what You will Give me only Your love and Your grace That is enough for me Amen