Ash Wednesday
February 25,
2009
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 practiced righteousness
and did not
forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous
judgments,
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...
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 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?
-Isaiah 58:1b-4,
6-7
Since early in the fourth century, Christians
have set aside the season of Lent as a time of fasting and
penitence to prepare for the feast of Easter. But
the words of the prophet Isaiah remind us that our fasting must
not become empty ritual disconnected from meaningful change in
the way we live our daily lives. As we begin our
reflection on both the beauty and brokenness we see in our
world, consider how your daily living is part of that beauty and
brokenness. How can the disciplines of this 40-day
series help you make long-lasting changes in your life?
Act for Change
Christians gather for worship to seek God’s forgiveness, to lament, to rejoice and to give thanks for God’s grace and power to transform us. Worship is one of the ways people of faith “act for change”! Consider gathering with others for a time of devotion each week during Lent—HERE you’ll find today’s order for worship from the resource Creation Waits With Eager Longing.
Be Aware
Check out the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) social statement, Caring For Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice to learn more about God’s vision for creation, and our part in it.
The ELCA also produces resources on the environment and the church’s engagement in environmental policy. You can find these resources on the ELCA Web site —use them to learn more about many of the issues that will be covered in this series over the next six weeks.
Writer: Rev. Yvette J. Schock. Contributor: Kathleen Wood. Design: Brewer Communications, Inc. Produced by: Advocacy Department, Church in Society Program Unit, ELCA. Theme photo © iStockphotos/ooyoo. Earth photo courtesy of NASA. Road photo © iStockphotos/ATVG. Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and used by permission. All rights reserved. Web sites linked from this message reflect the positions of the outside organizations and may not necessarily reflect an official position of ELCA. Copyright © 2009 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. All rights reserved.
