Tag: Isaiah 58

Make a Light

Thus says the LORD:
Share your bread with the hungry,
shelter the oppressed and the homeless;
clothe the naked when you see them,
and do not turn your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!
If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;
if you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

Isaiah 58:7-10
Make a light for us in darkness;
make a way when we are lost.
Bring us back, when we have wandered;
strike the debt, despite the cost.

You who shine as bright as noonday,
give us your unfailing light.
Let us echo all that you say,
Word who makes the darkness bright.

Fill us, Lord, when we are hungry;
shelter us beneath your cloak.
So, we learn to shelter others,
feeding them the bread you broke.

Free us from the years' oppression;
touch our eyes to see our chains.
Let us not make others wear them;
let us freely tend their pains.

Lift us from our dust and ashes,
we will fly as burning sparks.
Light our hearts with your compassion:
Make us beacons in the dark.

Not our light but yours, O Jesus;
not our love but your own heart
is the flame that lights and frees us,
shining ever in the dark.

Eerie Night By Ngphotography, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53123868

The Day Will Come

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,

“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,

but your disciples do not fast?”

Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn

as long as the bridegroom is with them?

The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,

and then they will fast.”

Matthew 9:14-15

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:

            releasing those bound unjustly,

            untying the thongs of the yoke;

Setting free the oppressed

            breaking every yoke;

Sharing your bread with the hungry,

            sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;

Clothing the naked when you see them,

            and not turning your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

            and your wound shall quickly be healed;

Your vindication shall go before you,

            and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,

            you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Isaiah 58:1-9a
The day will come: The bridegroom will be taken.
We lay aside our spotless bridal gown.
The sun has dimmed, and all the earth is shaken;
we lay him out, enfolded in his shroud.
So let us fast, e'en as our hearts are breaking;
so let us weep and mourn our sins aloud.

He will return and bring with him fulfillment;
until he does, the fast before us lies.
The promise lives, but cannot be fulfilled yet,
so day by day the tears escape our eyes.
Our bridegroom knew—he wept for us and still went—
and now we fast and lift our heartrent cries.

So we must rend our hearts instead of garments,
and smash the yoke that weighs our brothers down,
share out our bread, give shelter to the homeless,
untie the ropes that hold our sisters bound.
Then light shall break, and he shall go before us:
The bridegroom comes, and we shall wear his crown!
Ecce Homo, Nuno Gonçalves, 15th century By Unknown author – [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6014228