Daily Scripture Reflection & Prayer: March 7, 2025

Friday after Ash Wednesday

Scripture Text: Isaiah 58:1-9a

Thus says the Lord GOD:

Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,

lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;

Tell my people their wickedness,

and the house of Jacob their sins.

They seek me day after day,

and desire to know my ways,

Like a nation that has done what is just

and not abandoned the law of their God;

They ask me to declare what is due them,

pleased to gain access to God.

"Why do we fast, and you do not see it?

afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?"

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,

and drive all your laborers.

Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,

striking with wicked claw.

Would that today you might fast

so as to make your voice heard on high!

Is this the manner of fasting I wish,

of keeping a day of penance:

That a man bow his head like a reed

and lie in sackcloth and ashes?

Do you call this a fast,

a day acceptable to the LORD?

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:

releasing those bound unjustly,

untying the thongs of the yoke;

Setting free the oppressed,

breaking every yoke;

Sharing your bread with the hungry,

sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;

Clothing the naked when you see them,

and not turning your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you,

and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,

you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Breaking the text open – background and summary:

The first reading for today drawn from the prophecy of Isaiah speaks of the fasting of the people and their frustration that it does not earn them the reward they wish of the LORD. Then the LORD tells the people the “fasting that I wish.” That fasting involves justice – caring for one another lovingly. When we act justly, the LORD will be with us and hear us.

Meditating on the text with personal questions:

Am I “fasting” as the LORD calls me to by denying myself and seeking to help my sisters and brothers lovingly?

Praying:

LORD, during this Lenten journey of faith, hope and love, guide us so that we might draw nearer to You by drawing nearer to those around us in need. Send your Spirit to spur us on to serve our sisters and brothers lovingly, caring for them and their needs because of our love for You and for them. Help us to see them as You do, to love them as You do. We ask this in the name of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Amen.