NOTES for Isa 58:1-11

Chapter 58 of the book of the prophet Isaiah, which we read today, is an astonishing text whose significance for Christians is hard to overestimate. The Lord answers a question about "judgments of righteousness" to people who "desire to draw near to God." "Why have we fasted, and You do not see?" - this is how, with complete frankness, the prophet formulates the "claim" of a devout person against God. Whether we are made this way, or whether the legacy of thousands of years of paganism weighs on us, we instinctively think that God needs our sacrifices, and the more effort we make, the greater mercy we earn.

The Lord speaks severe words in response: "on the day of your fast you seek your own will" and "you fast for quarrels and strife." "Who requires you to trample My courts?" He said at the beginning of the book of Isaiah. God's mercy, and drawing near to Him, can be gained only by mercy and truth embodied in life: "This is the fast that I have chosen: loose the bonds of wickedness..." Thus, in this Old Testament passage, a person's ascetic labor is presented in the same way as in the New Testament. It is important to remember this so that we do not become proud of the heights reached during the past fast...