The Fast I choose.
I was struggling to come up with a way to address the scriptures that were presented in today’s lectionary, but I think that’s because I couldn’t keep my thoughts off of something else. See, there’s this “revival” happening in my home state and on the surface it seems like “good God stuff” but I’m troubled by it. Let me set the scene.
Eleven days ago at Asbury University in Wilmore Kentucky, a group of students decided to stay after chapel services and stage a pray-in of sorts. This is something that has happened at the college before, so it’s not unprecedented. The students continued their vigil and the campus paper declared it a revival and social media accounts began flooding the internet. When students did this in 1970 there wasn’t social media- no ticktock, no insta, no snap chat. So news traveled really quickly that this revival was happening. After two days, the local media began to pick up on the event, coffee stations were added, and it was clear this was not going to end any time soon.
As this revival continued through the fourth day, the crowd began to grow in the auditorium and local media coverage continued. As the revival entered the fifth day, Busses and vans from churches and other religious institutions started to arrivbe at Asbury for the revival. Soon two chapels and other buildings were opened for overflow crowds. Things were officially getting huge.
On Monday Seminarians at Virginia Theological Seminary and Cedarville university held worship services in response to what was happening at Asbury- the revival had now expanded past Asbury and Wilmore. On Tuesday, the revival grew again. At least 22 other institutions traveled to Asbury to join in. ( Some of these institutions did so in official capacities, while others were unofficial appearances of students and faculty). Students at Campbellsville University and Lee University remained in worship in response to the revival. (“2023 Asbury Revival” 2023)
And well, It just kept going. As of today, the revival has continued. They’ve prioritized admittance to those under the age of 25 to “prioritize the voice of generation z” and they have even live-streamed. But this is what I can’t wrap my head around. Why?
“We’ve been here in Hughes Auditorium for over a hundred hours — praying, crying, worshiping and uniting — because of Love,” wrote Alexandra Presta, editor of the Asbury Collegian, the school’s student newspaper, who has been chronicling the services on campus. “We’ve even expanded into Estes Chapel across the street at Asbury Theological Seminary and beyond. I can proclaim that Love boldly because God is Love.”(Smietana 2023)
But again I ask, Why?
Students are repeating the refrain “Our affection, our devotion, poured out on the feet of Jesus.” (Lowe 2023) And on YouTube now there are reports of demons manifesting and being cast back out. And no matter how hard I try, I cannot wrap my head around this. Why?
What is the point of 11 days of singing and social media streaming? What is the point of skipping out on the classes you went to college to attend? What is the point of pouring devotion and affection on Jesus’s feet? WHAT DOES THAT DO?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand the place of revivals in the history of Christianity. The Great Awakening gave rise to many of the denominations we know today and changed the way Christianity is practiced in the united states. The Second Great Awakening gave birth to my own denomination and moved many to fight for freedom and abolition as well as spiritual growth. I understand that revivals can rekindle someone’s spirit or change someone’s heart. I get it in theory. I’ve even been to a revival or two, but I never understood the point and never had that “charismatic” experience that people seem to be having in Asbury. And in all of my thoughts about it.
And that made me think about Isaiah 58 and Lent. As we approach Lent, we are asked to think about what we want to give up for Lent- about the fast we want to have. See, Isaiah 58 gives us a blueprint for our fasting and our repentance. Again and again, the prophets come back to the same conclusion- that putting worship and tradition ahead of actually serving God’s people is not what God wants. And in fact, we’ve learned from the prophets again and again that God doesn’t want worship for worship’s sake or worship to make ourselves feel good. Isaiah 58 tells us this exact thing.
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
See, the fast God wants from us is not days of singing and affection at the feet of Jesus. No, what God SPECIFICALLY asks for is that we fix injustice, free the oppressed, feed the hungry, house the homeless, and clothe the naked. That’s it THAT IS WHAT GOD IS ASKING FOR. Again and again and again in the Prophets and in the Gospels, we are continually reminded that we are supposed to take care of each other and not let our own worship and tradition keep us from actually doing the work.
And I think this is what is really bothering me about what is happening in Wilmore right now.
What good is it doing? Who is it helping? Maybe it’s making the participants feel good, but what does that feeling actually do to help the state of the world? Wouldn’t a true revival be one that left the building and went out to do good in the world? It all brings to mind Isaiah 58. God doesn’t need a self-congratulatory song fest. God needs us to get out the building and get to work. We are not called to worship for worship’s sake. Sure, giving praise and thanks to God is a part of our faith journey, but it can’t be the entirety of it. Worship is a small part of who we are as faithful people. Showering affection on the feet of Jesus is not the point.
John Pavlovich puts it this way:
Christians, you want to have a real “revival”?
Stop singing.
Start emulating Jesus.
Get out of the church building and go feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for the poor, welcome the immigrant, and love the least.
It takes no effort to sing.
Singing alone helps no one outside the building.
Leave the building.
Go and love.
Then, sing while you do. (Pavlovitz 2023)
That brings me back to the start of Lent this week and the notion of fasting and giving things up. The point is not to do something just for show or just for the sake of doing it. It’s about fixing injustice, freeing the oppressed, feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, and clothing the naked. It’s about doing more. As we move into this season of reflection and repentance, we have to remember that the goal is a deeper relationship with God and greater service to others.
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your needs in parched places
and make your bones strong,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water
whose waters never fail.
Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.
Amen