Friday, February 27
Isaiah 58:1-9. Is this the manner of fasting I wish…that you bow your head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? This, rather, is the fasting I wish: releasing those bound unjustly…setting free the oppressed…sharing your bread with the hungry; sheltering the homeless; clothing the naked…and not turning your back on your own.
| I cannot help
but think of our new president upon reading these words—fasting is not about
self-denial as such; it is about recognizing our responsibility for others.
We are always members of a larger community—religious, educational, political—and
we are tied to others not only through our membership in that community but
also simply as fellow human beings. Doing our part to free the oppressed, to
feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, enables those others to live richer
and more meaningful lives. But we also enrich ourselves, widening our circle
of selfhood, acknowledging that we are more when we are with others. This
seems to me to be President Obama’s vision of the community of the United
States, a community that can be enriched by heeding the needs not only of
our fellow citizens, but of all peoples who suffer under the weight of
oppression. - Lisa King, Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department; Director, Women’s and Gender Studies |