Like medicine for my wounded soul

I was reflecting on the readings for today when the terrible events that unfolded in Florida on Wednesday interrupted my reflections. What shall we make of this, Lord? In my prayers to my classes on Thursday, I began by asking God that the victims find peace, that consolation comes to the families of those killed and injured, that those struggling for survival get the care they need and that those working on them have steady hands and clear eyes…

…but then my thoughts turn towards the deep desire for reconciliation that confronts me: on the one hand, we profess and experience a God who not only created us but who loves and sustains us every moment of our existence. On the other hand, what confronts us is horrendous evil born of terrible hatred and pain, as well as the needless suffering caused by that evil. The knowledge that such things are a result of the gift of freedom God grants to all of us does little to heal the fresh wound that has opened for so many.

I present this dilemma in my prayer, with my classes, knowing fully that I do not have the answers and that God alone can reconcile this conflict in my heart. It places before me the hard and bare truth of what I profess as a Christian and what I hope can be renewed throughout Lent this year: that “God is unconditional love” (1 John 4:8, 16), and that the answer to evil is love and compassion. But what does this love and compassion look like? How do we realize it in our lives when they are so marked by evil and suffering?

Isaiah’s prescription in today’s first reading is fasting, but not fasting in the way we would expect it to be. He writes:

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.

These words challenge me and drive me towards an engagement with those around me who struggle in pain, bondage, and lack of basic needs. What is the result of this “fasting” that we are called by the prophet to enact? Isaiah’s response is similar to Jesus’ parable of the Judgement of the Nations, also known as the Sheep and the Goats. The Lord says, “You gave me food when I was hungry, clothing when I was naked...” “But when,” the sheep ask, “did we do this?” Jesus says, “When you did it for the least of my brethren, you did it for me.” That act is the liberative, reconciliatory moment, and what follows Isaiah’s call to action above are words that are like medicine for my wounded soul:

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!

Author: Daniel Dion, Theology Department, Campus Ministry Team