28 February 2020 - Godly sorrow

Today's Readings

(Audio)

Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?

When we fast the point isn't simply that we feel bad about ourselves.

For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death (see Second Corinthians 7:10).

Fasting is rather supposed to be choosing to put God first. Sorrow is useful insofar as it can provide impetus for genuine transformation. But it not the point itself. Transformation is the point.

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.

We value some things in our lives more than they deserve. Fasting teaches us to set those things aside to make room for the love of God and neighbor.

The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

We fast to make room for the return of the bridegroom. We typically live trying to fell the emptiness by other means. We have a God shaped hole within us that won't be fully filled until we are one with him forever. But we try to fill it with all sorts of temporary earthly pleasures. It is worthwhile to notice this sorrow. It arises from the fact that we are not yet in heaven. It is this sorrow that can help motivate us to open ourselves to transformation that it is otherwise far too easy to put off indefinitely.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

The sorrow that works repentance is not something we can stir up within ourselves. It is not guilt for all the ways which we have failed. We may have these feelings but we need not dwell on them. God suggests, in fact, that we direct our focus elsewhere, to loving others, and to loving him above all.

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.