Do Justice for Lent
The season of Lent has begun.
When I did some shopping Wednesday morning I noticed a black smudge on the forehead of another shopper and realized it was Ash Wednesday, and I could have the ashes placed on my own forehead in the evening at church.
I've been seeing many ways of celebrating Lent appearing in my feeds. In the past, I've tried quite a few ways of marking the season of Lent as well.
Fasting is a traditional way of marking the season,
in memory of the 40 days of fasting Jesus did after his baptism.
The Ash Wednesday service at church was quiet and serious. There were hymns and readings, times to stand, times to sit, and of course, the time to move toward the front to receive the ashes along with the reminder that from ashes we have come, and to ashes we will return.
The readings were from Isaiah 58 and Psalm 51. The Isaiah passage especially caught my attention, beginning with this phrase:
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day.
v. 3
I wonder about this.
Do I choose my method of Lent observance to serve my own interests?
I'm sure that I have done this, choosing practices that are more about my needs than about God's desire for the world.
The writer continues to ask and answer this question as God's voice, speaking to God's people, beginning with verse 5:
Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
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 youreslf from your own kin?
The chapter ends with a round of promises for those who do these things. They are lavish poetry that makes the heart full with the richness of them.
And so...
How to mark the season of Lent...
how to fast,
what discipline will meet this demand for justice?
I'm going to list a few that are on my radar:
Habitat for Humanity currently has a 2 million dollar matching grant from Lowe's for providing safe housing to those who need it.
Layla F. Saad is an activist who has written a workbook for white people to explore their relationship to white supremacy. It is designed as information accompanied by writing prompts for your own private journal writing. There are writing prompts on 28 topics and can be completed as quickly or slowly as you like. It is a free download, and if you decide to compensate Layla for her work, there are links for ways to do that. Layla has her own website, podcast, and various social media sites, so she is easy to find. I'm currently working through this workbook.
Our local homeless shelter, The New Hope Shelter, always has a list of items needed and ways to volunteer. This is the week our church is providing the evening meals and presence.
Our use of plastics is harmful to people and to the world, so reducing it would also be a step toward justice. There is a downloadable Lenten calendar put out by the Anglican church to help people reduce their use of the materials that pollute our world and end up filling oceans and polluting our environment.
These are only a few ideas. There are so many.
Feel free to add your own in the comments.
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day.
v. 3
I wonder about this.
Do I choose my method of Lent observance to serve my own interests?
I'm sure that I have done this, choosing practices that are more about my needs than about God's desire for the world.
The writer continues to ask and answer this question as God's voice, speaking to God's people, beginning with verse 5:
Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
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 youreslf from your own kin?
The chapter ends with a round of promises for those who do these things. They are lavish poetry that makes the heart full with the richness of them.
And so...
How to mark the season of Lent...
how to fast,
what discipline will meet this demand for justice?
I'm going to list a few that are on my radar:
Habitat for Humanity currently has a 2 million dollar matching grant from Lowe's for providing safe housing to those who need it.
Layla F. Saad is an activist who has written a workbook for white people to explore their relationship to white supremacy. It is designed as information accompanied by writing prompts for your own private journal writing. There are writing prompts on 28 topics and can be completed as quickly or slowly as you like. It is a free download, and if you decide to compensate Layla for her work, there are links for ways to do that. Layla has her own website, podcast, and various social media sites, so she is easy to find. I'm currently working through this workbook.
Our use of plastics is harmful to people and to the world, so reducing it would also be a step toward justice. There is a downloadable Lenten calendar put out by the Anglican church to help people reduce their use of the materials that pollute our world and end up filling oceans and polluting our environment.
These are only a few ideas. There are so many.
Feel free to add your own in the comments.
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