Isaiah 58.1–12 The fast that God chooses

It’s counterintuitive to go from several weeks of Isaiah telling us not to raise hell on the streets to suddenly telling us to shout out without holding back. The difference is that previously, Isaiah was speaking out against violence and protest; now our author is talking about saying, “Hey! WTF are you people doing?” Okay, maybe less cursing. These words might sound more familiar to you that a later prophet would shout: “You hypocrites! Woe to you, fools! Woe to you, blind guides!”[1]

I have been given a project proposal that I am uncertain whether or not I wish to accept, but am discerning the idea. In the past year, there have been a significant number of United Methodist churches disaffiliating, blaming the church for condoning homosexuality for a wide-variety of reasons, which this particular article is not going to explore today. To them I shout “Hypocrites! Fools! Blind-guides! What the fish are you people doing!” Or substitute your favorite four-letter-F word.

We are called to be one church, under one authority’s judgment, to make disciples of all, to encourage each and every human being on this earth to develop their relationship with Christ and take it as deep as they can possibly go within this lifetime with it. That’s our job as a church, plain and simple.

Want to know what you will burn in hell for according to Jesus Christ?

Being angry with someone and not resolving it:

Matthew 5^{: 21} “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment, and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council, and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.

Not helping those in need when you can:

Matthew 25: ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

Judging and/or condemning others:

Matthew 13: ³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Not repenting of your sin:

Luke 13: ⁵ No, I tell you, but unless you repent you will all perish just as they did.”

And perhaps most importantly, not being a hypocriteand words:

Mark 7: ⁶ He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their hearts are far from me;
⁷ in vain do they worship me,
    teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

⁸ “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

⁹ Then he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition! ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.’ ¹¹ But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, ‘Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban’ (that is, an offering to God), ¹² then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother, ¹³ thus nullifying the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this.”

¹⁴ Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

There are many other examples of what will condemn you in the eyes of God, but I prefer to stick with that which comes from the mouth of Jesus (at least to the best of our current knowledge) over the voices of later prophets and apostles. If you’re going to be a Christian, you stand by the teachings of Jesus Christ.

The life and words of Jesus Christ are what should guide us who claim to be followers of Christ. This is not to say as the prophets of old and new are not valuable to us. We need great historians, creative thinkers, new interpreters, and those who can study the word in ways we have neither the time or talent to do so. I cannot read Koine Greek. I cannot read Hebrew. I cannot read ancient documents. I must rely on someone else’s translations and compilation of pieces to guide my belief system. I find solace in the words of Proverbs 3:⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. It is always my hope that one day more people will read this blog and comment so we can begin a dialogue that explores others’ understandings in a way that enriches all who read.

If we look at those things I have identified above as what Jesus considers sinful and condemning: Remaining angry, not helping when we can, judging others, not repenting, and hypocrisy- saying we believe something but not acting in congruence with our statements, it paints disaffiliation on the grounds of disagreement based upon a judgment of others that Jesus Christ himself did not make, problematic. It makes splitting from a whole in anger and holding on to that resentment problematic. It makes creating a new church, saying you can interpret scripture better than anyone else, problematic. Creating a stumbling block for those who wish to come to Christ is problematic.[2]

Isaiah speaks to us of hypocrisy “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 (58:2).” Hypocrisy designed to be a stumbling block for others “You fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist (58:4).

Isaiah questions the motivation of the people regarding their fasting and their sharing of bread, claiming they help and do these outward demonstrations only to portray themselves as superior or more righteous than others. In fact, they help others cover their nakedness only to hide their own. We point out others’ flaws only to hide our own. We knock others down because we find it easier than building ourselves up. We create stumbling blocks trying to separate that which we create from acknowledging that it is we who are the stumbling block.

Jesus Christ didn’t judge others; he left that for the Father. Instead, he chose to speak to the woman at the well who was considered unclean, had had multiple husbands, and was “living in sin.” He chose to give her hope. He ate with sinners, not to point out their sins but to point out the sins of the hypocritical Pharisees who believed they were in a position to condemn them.

Jesus Christ fasted from pointing fingers, placing a burden upon others, speaking evil, and chose instead to offer support and kindness, fuel for growth to satisfy the needs of the afflicted. He chose to be a light instead of the harbinger of doom, which he actually was. He preached hellfire and brimstone, death, the weeping and the gnashing of teeth, which was to come thickly enveloped in the hope and promise that this was not the future they had to suffer but was in fact the one they were choosing instead of redemption.

The choice was made through their actions, not their words. “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(58:1).” You are choosing a fast that God has not chosen. You are choosing your way over God’s way. You are choosing a way that judges other people. Choosing a way that inspires and reveals your anger. Choosing a way that does not help the needy. Choosing a way that goes against the very things you claim to believe in. You are choosing hypocrisy.

Jesus Christ came to reform the church. Not destroy it. Not break it apart. Reform. Jesus spoke against the very same things which are destroying the Christian churches of today. Things that are creating massive stumbling blocks for believers of the future. Political unrest, internal quarreling, and fighting that no one wants to be a part of. These are the things the church has come to stand for.

The church is supposed to stand for Christ. The first thing people are supposed to think of when they think of the word Christian is supposed to be “LOVE.” Unconditional love. The love of God. The love of Christ. The love of the Spirit. The love of one another. Love love love love love. When was the last time you heard the Christian church talked about as being a source of love?

Woe to you hypocrites!

Woe to you, fools!

Woe to you, blind guides!

What the fish are you doing?! You sure aren’t practicing righteousness, you are practicing judgment, hate, and hypocrisy.

So, this project, what would a church that is not a building, not a “church” in the modern sense of the word, look like? What would you want it to look like? What does it do? What happens there? How do we redefine church instead of just saying we need to? I really want to know! My own understanding can’t make it happen. It’s going to take a community effort. If I’m willing to offer my skillset to it, who else is? What could loving God and one’s neighbor look like in the world today?

Think about it and comment on it! Like. Share. Subscribe. Shout out; do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Help me announce to God’s people the rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins, and how we’re going to help repair it.

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[1] Matthew 23:1-36

[2] Matthew 16:23, 23:13; Luke 11:52Romans 14:13-23