The Second Sunday in Lent: We Fast to End Oppression

So what kind of fasting DOES God want? 

In Isaiah 58, verses 6-7 and 9-10 have a common theme running throughout them: namely to actively work against oppression. We are told to "loose the chains of injustice", "untie the cords of the yoke", "set the oppressed free", and "break every yoke". Additionally, we are told to "do away with the yoke of oppression" and "satisfy the needs of the oppressed". 

Part of fasting is abstaining. We avoid certain foods for specific durations, but that's not the whole picture. The fasting that God describes as pleasing to Him in Isaiah 58 goes deeper than depriving ourselves of something for a season. We are to fast to end oppression. 

One way to end oppression is to make the choice to buy fair trade goods. This is a topic that I am highly passionate about. I have written about the importance of this alternative to oppressive businesses and why we should buy fair trade many times over the years. For more information, see When Doing What is Right Costs More (or Why God Would Buy Fair Trade Coffee), So Many Causes, So Many Directions, We are Connected, Spending Less This Christmas Season, and Loving All This Christmas Season.

An additional way to end oppression is through thrifting. When we buy second-hand or used items, we are participating in an alternative economy. One that seeks to reuse and repurpose what has been discarded. Furthermore, many thrift shops' proceeds go to help those regulated to the margins of society. 

It probably won't surprise you to read "There is injustice in our world. People are oppressed. People are caught in systems that oppress them." We nod along and shake our heads at people who oppress others for monetary gain.

Yet, if we participate in the mainstream shopping and dominant economy, then we are participating in a system that benefits a few by sacrificing many more. To put it another way, if we buy things from retail stores, then we are likely part of the problem. The purchases that we make (and don't make) can impact people around the world. 

We can DO something about this. Furthermore, as Christians, we are called to do something about this problem. Our actions directly affect supply and demand. When you "vote with your dollars" and I "vote with my dollars" by making ethical purchases, then (eventually) the suppliers will learn that Christians want a company to pay its workers fairly and to protect the environment. In short, we can make ethical, fair trade, and environmentally sustainable choices. 

It is true that fair trade goods will cost more. When a "mainstream" chocolate bar costs $1, paying $4 for a chocolate bar seems ridiculous. But, we can savor that chocolate bar when it has a steeper cost to it. We won't wolf it down in one sitting (it's probably too rich for that anyway) when it has a higher cost. 

Yes, we will have to research various companies and their practices. We can buy local produce in season from local farmers to ensure our money is going where we want it to go. We can search for fair trade products and foods. Even in grocery stores, we can find Fair Trade versions of coffee, sugar, tea, and chocolate. Typically, if there is a fair trade version of something, it means that the "mainstream" version is not so ethical. 

We even have to watch out for misusing thrifting. It can be a good thing, but if we go beyond moderation in this, we can be just as guilty of gluttony at a thrift store as we are at a grocery or clothing store. Our society uses "retail therapy" to mask deeper pains and longings in our heart. If we aren't careful, we can do this at thrift stores as well. It may be a cheaper problem, but it still is a problem that we need to work through. I understand the "thrill of the hunt" at a thrift store, but if I buy things that I don't need, don't use, and don't value, then I have taken resources away from people who needed them more. 

We don't have to make all of the changes in a day or even a year, but we can start to make steps in the right direction. 

We can choose better options when we run out of items and need to replace them. When we run out of chocolate chips, we can choose to buy the fair trade chocolate chips. 

We can choose to buy gifts with intentionality. When we want to buy pajama pants as a gift, we can choose to buy fair trade clothing. 

We can learn from those who have gone before. The Living More with Less book by Doris Janzen Longacre is an excellent guidebook and teacher. 

Martin Luther King Jr. had a lot to say about the "triple evils" of poverty/consumerism/materialism, militarism, and racism. He believed that we, as Christians, needed to actively work against all three to be faithfully obeying Christ. Yet, we (myself included) go along with the way things are, because it is convenient or cheaper. 

As we fast this Lenten season, as we consume less, it is my prayer that we will examine what we do buy and why we buy those things. May we shift our buying habits from cultural norms to Kingdom of Heaven norms. 

The First Sunday in Lent: Fasting is more than humility

This was a short week of fasting. Just Wednesday-Saturday. 

Isaiah 58 began by outlining the fasting that God rejects. 

We see in verses 3-5, that God rejects fasts for the following reasons: 

-we still do as we please on the day(s) we fast

-we exploit others

-our fasting ends in quarreling and strife

-we strike each other

-Fasting is not a day to just humble ourselves. It is more than bowing down or lying in sackcloth and ashes.

If we fast this way, we can't expect our voices to be heard by God.

Our culture raises us to be very self-centered. We are focused on ourselves, our likes, our dislikes, our preferences, and our opinions. Yet, when we fast, we are not to be focused on ourselves or pleasing ourselves. The opposite of this is to focus on others or doing what pleases someone else. What is something that someone else wants you to do that you've been avoiding? 

Exploitation. This is an ugly word. And it's not one that we are keen to apply to ourselves. Yet, even though we are not actively exploiting people (I hope), either by underpaying, oppressing, or through some other means, we are still benefiting from a system that exploits people. When we consider the cost of fabric for a shirt (which should include the labor to make the fabric) and the labor to make a shirt, well, cheap clothes would be much pricier in stores. When we buy a $5 shirt, we are buying from a company that is not paying its workforce for their time and skill in an appropriate amount. We may not be the ones underpaying, but by buying the shirt, we are benefiting from the exploitation of others. What is a purchase you can make that properly pays people for their time, skills, and materials? 

Quarreling and Strife. Striking and Fighting. Granted, at the end of a day of fasting, we all are a little hangry (angry because we are hungry). Yet, if we are fighting, turning on each other, or arguing, we are not focused on hearing from and listening to God. A lot of the time, we fight because of our pride. We want to save face, justify our words/behavior, or rationalize our actions. We don't overlook an insult, because we are determined to have the last word. How can we step away from the next fight that comes up?

Fasting is supposed to be more than a way of humbling ourselves. Bowing down, using sackcloth, and covering ourselves in ashes is a biblical way to show humility, but we are to go beyond self-abasement when we fast. We see this in Jonah 3. The city of Nineveh fasted (not eating OR drinking), wore sackcloth, and sat in the dust. But they also called on God and were commanded by the king to give up their evil ways and violence. If we just go through the motions of humility without repentance and changing our ways, then God is not impressed with our fast. How can we move beyond humbling ourselves to lasting change?

If we fast in these ways, we can't expect our voices to be heard by God. In the coming weeks, we will look at ways that we are called to fast. We will look at the things God specifically mentions doing.

Ash Wednesday and Lent

Ash Wednesday is on February 17th, 2021. It kicks off the 40 days of Lent, a period of fasting before Easter, right? Well...about that... If you count from Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday (the day before Easter), it is actually 46 days. So for all those years I thought I was fasting 40 days, it was actually 46 days. Lent is a 40-day period of fasting, but the Sundays are meant to be excluded. That's right. We aren't supposed to fast on Sundays.  

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning Lent with a time of prayer and repentance. If we trace its history back to the 300s with the Council of Nicea, we see that the concept of 40 days of fasting was present, even while fasting on Sundays was forbidden since Sundays were not a day for penance or other forms of sorrow. 

So if we want to fast during Lent, except for the Sundays, what kind of fasting should we do? Isaiah 58 describes the fast that God is displeased with, as well as the kind of fast that He wants from us. Throughout Lent, I will be diving into Isaiah 58 each week to delve into the different aspects of fasting in more detail.

Lent is supposed to be more than just abstaining from chocolate or social media for 40 days (well 46 days because we never counted them or realized that Sundays weren't meant to be fast days). Fasting wasn't meant to simply be a day that we abstain from a food or activity that we like. It was meant to be a time that we worked to end oppression and to help the oppressed. So fast from chocolate, but take your chocolate budget and donate it to a food bank. Fast from social media, but use that time to pray, to volunteer, or to repent. 

If we choose to fast like the early(ish) church in the first few centuries after the crucifixion, we would be normally fasting a few days a week (such as Wednesdays and Fridays) during the year. During Lent, we would only eat one meal a day (in the evening). We would abstain from meat, fish, eggs, and butter, as well as wine, oil, and dairy products in some denominations. 

Take some time to prayerfully consider how you can fast in line with Isaiah 58. Ask how your fasting can work towards justice. 

Transfiguration Sunday

Transfiguration Sunday (February 14th, 2021) is the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday (on Feb. 17th in 2021) and the 7th Sunday after Epiphany. 
 

This Sunday highlights the transfiguration of Jesus that is recorded in Matthew 17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, and Luke 9:28-36. After the transfiguration, Jesus heads to Jerusalem, knowing that He would suffer and die. 

A key phrase in the transfiguration is "listen to Him". It is what the disciples heard God say to them about Jesus. 

We have a lot of noise in our world today. Listen to Him.

We have noise from news networks. Listen to Him.

We have noise from people afraid they are not being heard. Listen to Him.

We have noise from people speaking in fear, in anger, or in hate. Listen to Him.

We have noise from businesses urging us to buy so that we can be satisfied. Listen to Him.

We have noise from voices crying out against injustice and oppression. Listen to Him.

And as we listen to Him, the events around us are still the same, but we are different. 

We hear the noise, but we block it out to hear His voice. 

We hear the news and hear His voice telling us to pray and intercede on behalf of the people. 

We hear people shouting, afraid they will be silenced, and we hear Him say, "Love them. Show them compassion. They too are made in my image". 

We hear people speaking in fear, anger, and hate, as we hear Him call us to respond in love, in truth, and in compassion. 

We hear businesses telling us to "buy, Buy, BUY!", but we block the false narrative that things will satisfy us, fulfill us, or comfort us so we can turn to Him who does satisfy us. 

We hear voices crying out against injustice and oppression, and we realize that He too is speaking against these evils, even as He wants to reconcile oppressor and oppressed to Himself.

This Transfiguration Sunday, I urge you to listen to Him. Turn off the noise around you and listen. Stop talking and listen.  

The Presentation of the Lord

Presentation of the Lord is celebrated 40 days after Christmas on February 2nd. This was when Jesus was presented in the temple and He, as the firstborn of Mary, was redeemed in accordance with the temple law. 

Scripture: Luke 2:22-40

Did you notice that Mary and Joseph sacrificed two doves or pigeons? Did you realize that was what the Old Testament law required for those who couldn't afford a lamb? Jesus was born into a family that was poor. While Jesus and His family were in the temple, Simeon and Anna the prophet approached with words of blessing, warning, praise, and redemption. 

Let's talk about poverty. 

Poverty isn't when we don't want any of the food choices in our pantry, freezer, or fridge. Poverty is having empty shelves. 

Poverty isn't when we can't afford everything our heart desires. Poverty is being unable to afford our needs. 

We get a skewed view of poverty in the US, because we are so focused on the mega-wealthy, that we convince ourselves that we are poor. I am not saying that poverty doesn't exist in the US (it does) or that people in our communities don't have tight budgets (they do), but rather, we devalue people's legitimate poverty when we complain that we are so poor that we can't afford both eating out AND buying a new ___. When we complain that we are STARVING, we are cheapening the words for those who really are starving, those who have gone without food for so long that their bodies are wasting away. 

Globally, there are more than 675 MILLION people living in extreme poverty by surviving on less than $1.90 per day. Poverty rates do vary by country and are influenced by the cost of living in each area, so I find it helpful to look at federal poverty levels (the threshold identifying when a person or family officially qualifies as living in poverty by government guidelines). We don't have to idly wonder what it's like to suffer from poverty; today's challenge has some suggestions on ways you can experience the food insecurity that plagues many people and then do something to help alleviate people's hunger.

Challenge: For many of us who haven't experienced true poverty, I challenge us to live as if we did for the next 5 days. Commit to spending only (an average of) $2 per day on food and beverages. Don't rely on your pantry and freezer to get you through this challenge. Take $10, go online to your favorite grocery pick-up place, spend only $10, and then only eat that food for the next 5 days. (Hint: beans & rice go a long way). After you do this challenge, reflect on your experience. What was it like to eat on such a limited budget? Did you have enough to eat? Did your hunger impact your ability to focus? Did you miss out on opportunities to eat out with family and friends? (I hope not, because you're in a pandemic, people!) Don't stop with merely reflecting, but use this as an opportunity to help others. Take the money that you would have spent eating out or on groceries and donate it to a charity that feeds the hungry.