Our Social Justice Commission is producing liturgical wristbands (purple, white, red and green).[Updated 5 Feb]
It is not difficult to see Lent through the eyes of justice (it might be difficult to live it). Each week the readings can be read through the lens of justice. To begin that focusing, in this post I point to at least one verse that can become one to mull over for the week – and to live in our lives.
[Updated from Gregory’s comment]
Ash Wednesday
Isaiah 58:1-12 (the first reading on that day) …6 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?
7 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?…
10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday…
Week 1
God hangs up the bow in the clouds, and makes an equal covenant with all.
Gen 9:16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Week 2
Psalm 22:26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD. May your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him.
28 For dominion belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.
Week 3
Is all of this world now God’s house?
John 2:16 He told those who were selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a marketplace!”
Week 4
Ephesians 2:10 For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.
Week 5
Jeremiah 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.
You can obtain wristbands here and more information here. Do you have other ideas for connecting justice and Lent? Please add them in the comments below. If you have reflections on the readings, or any other points you can return here and add them throughout Lent (you could bookmark this page).
Lent is a season of fasting, and in Isaiah 58:6-10 God tells us precisely what kind of fasting he wants from us:
This is the kind of fasting I want:
Free those who are wrongly imprisoned.
Lighten the burden of those who work for you.
Let the oppressed go free.
Remove the chains that bind people.
Share your food with the hungry.
Shelter the homeless.
Give clothes to the naked.
Do not hide from relatives in need of help.
Then your salvation will come like the dawn.
Your wounds will heal quickly.
Your godliness will lead you forward.
The glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
“Yes, here I am,” he will quickly reply.
Remove the heavy yoke of oppression.
Stop pointing fingers and spreading vicious rumors.
Feed the hungry and help those in trouble.
Then your light will shine out from the darkness.
Then the darkness around you will be bright as noontime.
That is our agenda for Lent! God has made it very clear that justice — doing what is right by God and neighbor — is very much a part of fasting, which is, in essence, denying ourselves and bridling our appetites and impulses so that we have more attention and resources to devote to the good of others.
Thanks, Gregory, for highlighting the reading that kicks off Lent on Ash Wednesday. This really does show the value of working together like this on a blog. I am updating the post to point to your comment. Blessings.
To whomever keeps coming over to my blog from here – THANKS very much!
“Never Fail – What I mean by that, is fail a lot!”
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