NOTES for Isa 58:1-11
Chapter 58 of the book of the prophet Isaiah, which we read today, is a remarkable text whose significance for Christians can hardly be overstated. The Lord answers a question about the “judgments of righteousness” posed by people who “delight to draw near to God.” “Why have we fasted, and You do not see it?” Thus, with the utmost frankness, the prophet articulates the pious person's “complaint” against God. Whether this is simply how we are made, or whether the legacy of millennia of paganism weighs upon us, we instinctively think that God needs our sacrifices, and that the more effort we make, the greater the favor we earn.
The Lord responds with harsh words: “On the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,” and “you fast only to quarrel and to fight.” “Who has required of you this trampling of My courts?” He said at the beginning of the book of Isaiah. God's mercy and nearness to Him can be gained only through mercy and righteousness put into practice: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness...” Thus, in this Old Testament passage, a person's ascetic practice is presented in the same way as in the New Testament. This is important to remember, lest we become proud of the heights we have attained during the fast now past...