For the Lord Hath Spoken
The Lenten Readings from Esaias
VI Lent Wednesday – Esaias 58: 1-11
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Thus saith the Lord: 1 Cry aloud, and spare not; lift up thy voice as with a trumpet, and declare to my people their sins, and to the house of Jacob their iniquities. 2 They seek me day by day, and desire to know my ways, as a people that had done righteousness, and had not forsaken the judgment of their God: they now ask of me righteous judgment, and desire to draw nigh to God, 3 saying, Why have we fasted, and thou regardest not? why have we afflicted our souls, and thou didst not know it? Nay, in the days of your fasts ye find your pleasures, and all them that are under your power ye wound. 4 If ye fast for quarrels and strifes, and smite the lowly with your fists, wherefore do ye fast to me as ye do this day, so that your voice may be heard in crying? 5 I have not chosen this fast, nor such a day for a man to afflict his soul; neither though thou shouldest bend down thy neck as a ring, and spread under thee sackcloth and ashes, neither thus shall ye call a fast acceptable. 6 I have not chosen such a fast, saith the Lord; but do thou loose every burden of iniquity, do thou untie the knots of hard bargains, set the bruised free, and cancel every unjust account. 7 Break thy bread to the hungry, and lead the unsheltered poor to thy house: if thou seest one naked, clothe him, and thou shalt not disregard the relations of thine own seed. 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily spring forth: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall compass thee. 9 Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hearken to thee; while thou art yet speaking he will say, Behold, I am here. If thou remove from thee the band, and the stretching forth of the hands, and murmuring speech; 10 and if thou give bread to the hungry from thy heart, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light spring up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as noon-day: 11 and thy God shall be with thee continually, and thou shalt be satisfied according as thy soul desires; and thy bones shall be made fat, and shall be as a well-watered garden, and as a fountain from which the water has not failed. – Esaias 58: 1-11
As we draw near to the Great Week of the Lord’s Passion and the Day of the Radiant Resurrection, let us recall that there are three great themes found in the hymnody of these holiest days of the year: First, there is of course, the historical and soteriological theme: the commemoration of the Passion and Resurrection of Christ, which occurred in time 2,000 years ago, but whose true meaning lie outside of time, in the eternity of the Heavenly Kingdom. Thus there is also the eschatological theme of Holy Week: frequently we hear the call to watchfulness, as we await the return in glory of Him Whom we saw glorified first in His Extreme Humility for our salvation. Third, there is the moral and ascetical theme: frequently we hear exhortations to live in newness of life, to show forth in our thoughts, words, and deeds the fruits of the Lord’s great redemptive work for us, as we make use of the grace that His Passion has won for us in order to become fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Today’s reading from Prophet Esaias emphasizes the moral theme of our conversion from the old way of life characterized by selfishness to the new way of life characterized by grace-filled charity, which is the highest of the virtues. The men of Old Israel whom the prophet reproves here are proud of their outward fasting, but lack charity to their neighbor. We must constantly recall – even now at the end of the Great Fast, as we did at the beginning – that fasting is not an end in itself. It is an instrument for the acquisition of virtue.
St. John Cassian writes,
You see, then, that fasting is by no means considered an essential good by the Lord, inasmuch as it does not become good and pleasing to God by itself but in conjunction with other works. …By reason of accessory circumstances it might be considered not only vain but even hateful, as the Lord says, “When they fast, I will not hear their prayers.” – Conferences
St. Cyril of Alexandria, in his commentary on this passage, addresses the well-known problem of outward piety coupled with inner corruption, a theme we have constantly recurred to since the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee:
There were those among them who received a reputation for piety but behaved shamefully without being noticed, decorating themselves on the outside and gaining a reputation of gentleness. They undertook fasts and made prayers, thinking that through this they could turn aside God’s anger. …Here they learn what their sins are and that they must turn from these if they want to be rewarded by God and become worthy of His sparing them. – St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on Isaiah
It is not likely that someone reading this commentary at this moment is a wealthy, hardhearted oligarch oppressing the poor, of the kind whom the prophet excoriates in today’s passage from his writings. All of us, however, must extend the mercy that we are capable of to those around us, starting with our immediate family, our friends, our fellow Church members, and our co-workers. This can begin most simply, by our bridling our irritation and practicing quietness of spirit, cheerfulness, and kindness to the person in front of us. St. Jerome, a notably fierce faster in his own right, nevertheless reproves one of his correspondents for thinking himself better than his brother for fasting more strictly, though he is angry and quarrelsome, while the other is cheerful and gracious:
If you have fasted two or three days [i.e., keep absolute fastswith no food or drink for days at a time], do not think yourself better than others who do not fast [i.e., those who do not keep absolute fasts but who eat fasting food in moderation]. You fast and are angry; the other eats and wears a smiling face. You work off your irritation and hunger in quarrels. He uses food in moderation and gives God thanks. – St. Jerome, Letter 22
Let us give the last word today to St. Isaac the Syrian, who gets to the heart of the matter, as usual, by reminding us that all of our sacrifices must be directed to the destruction of the idolatry of our logismoi – our thoughts – and our self-will:
You offer your own wills as whole burnt offerings to idols; and to the wretched thoughts, that you reckon in yourselves as gods, you daily sacrifice your free will, a thing more precious than all incense, which you ought rather to consecrate to Me by your good works and your purity of conscience. – St. Isaac the Syrian, Sixth Ascetical Homily
Let each of us, then, make a short list of the good works that we can by God’s grace accomplish in the sacred days lying before us, prepare for the cleansing of our conscience by a sincere and thorough confession of our sins, and greet the Lord in His saving Passion with purity of heart.
