If you remove from your midst oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; If you bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the darkness. The scripture readings for the beginning of Lent set up a steady drum beat for justice. Religion, faith have in our culture come to be associated with one’s “personal salvation.” That is not how the Bible thinks. In the Bible life in God is not my personal possession but found in relationships, particularly with those who are hurting. We are perhaps accustomed to hearing of the necessity of feeding the hungry. Isaiah also challenges in our current political situation to look at “false accusation and malicious speech” as offenses against God.
