‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. - Isaiah 58:3-4

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 1, 2017): Isaiah 58

Otto Frederick Warmbier died on June 19, 2017. He was 22. His death was at the hands of a North Korean Government that convicted him of tearing down a propaganda poster from his hotel. The sentence for his theft of the poster was 15 years hard labor. What happened next none of us really know. But about two months after his imprisonment he suffered some kind of neurological damage which resulted in a coma from which he never recovered. The young man was returned home and died surrounded by his family. It was a tragic ending to a life that had been filled with promise. And a death that simply should never have happened. There is no way that the sentence was appropriate to the crime.

A week after his death, a report was published in USA Today that a University professor had said that Warmbier got what he deserved. The comment, which should have never been made, was posted on Facebook. (Okay, people listen to me. SMARTEN UP. If you can’t say something nice on Facebook or Twitter, then don’t say anything at all. If you must write it down, do it in a Word document and save it on your computer so that you can delete it when you come to your senses. But whatever you do, DON’T PUT IT ON FACEBOOK. The sermon is done.) According to the ill-fated Facebook post, the professor argued that Warmbier had exhibited "typical of a mindset of a lot of the young, white, rich, clueless males who come into my classes."

Did I mention that this post should have never been made? Okay, having said that, she is also right. Not that Warmbier got what he deserved; that comment was mean and over the top and made absolutely no sense. He stole a poster; at worst fine him and kick him out of the country telling him never to return. But the part that described us as a bunch of spoiled brats is entirely true. I wouldn’t limit the comment to young, white, or rich, (or male for that matter), but the truth is that we all seem to be clueless about the way that the world works. None of us think out the end result of our actions. And it surprises us when things go desperately wrong.

It is also apparently also not a new phenomenon. Isaiah chastises his readers about the way that they live their lives. They fast so that God will come near, but at the same time, they have no concern for the things of God. They exploit each other and quarrel, and often end up coming to blows with each other, and yet they still expect that the God will honor their fasts. They were acting like spoiled brats, and God was going to ignore them. Their voices would not be heard until they started to live with some sort of unity present in their lives. As long as they behaved like spoiled brats, God would refuse to honor their prayers and fasts.

And maybe the same sentiment should extend to us.  

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Isaiah 59