Cry aloud
Shout
Lift up your voice like a trumpet
Declare to my people their rebellion
Tell my people what's wrong with their lives
They seek me daily
And delight to know my ways
They ask me
"What's the right thing to do?"
They act like righteous people
Who would never abandon the word of God
"Why have we fasted," they say
"And You have not seen it?"
"Why have we humbled ourselves
And You have not noticed?"
"Why aren't you impressed?"
Here's why
It's because you are fasting
To please yourselves
You fast, but you argue and
Fight over small things
You fast, but you attack those
Who don't think and act like you
This kind of fasting will
Never get you anywhere
You go through the motions
Bowing your heads like plants
Bending in the wind
Dressed in clothes for mourning
Is that what you call a fast,
A day acceptable to God?
This is the kind of fast I'm after
To break the chains of injustice
Lighten the burdens
Free the oppressed
Cancel the debts
Share your food with the hungry
Give shelter to the homeless
Clothe those who need it
Don't turn away from your
Own flesh and blood
They are your family
Then your light will break forth like the dawn
Your healing will quickly appear
Your righteousness will go before you
And the Glory of God will go behind you
You will call and God will answer
You will cry for help and
God will say, "Here I am"
Remove the heavy burden of oppression
Do away with the gossip and finger pointing
Feed the hungry
Help those in trouble
Then your light will
Shine out from the darkness
Your shadowed lives will be bathed in the sun
And God will guide you always
He will satisfy your needs in the
Emptiest of places
Restoring your strength
You will be like a well-watered garden
Like a spring whose waters never fail
Restore
Renovate
Rebuild the broken in your community
Raise up the age-old foundations
You will be called the
Repairer of the broken systems
Restorer of home and community