The True Call

Isaiah:58:3-14[3]Wherefore have we fasted, [say they], and thou seest not? [wherefore] have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find [your own] pleasure, and exact all your labors.[4]Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high.[5]Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to Jehovah?[6]Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?[7]Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?[8]Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall by thy rearward.[9]Then shalt thou call, and Jehovah will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking wickedly;[10]and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noonday;[11]and Jehovah will guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in dry places, and make strong thy bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.[12]And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.[13]If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, [and] the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words:[14]then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. Why have we fasted:

3 ‘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. 4 Your fasting ends in quarrelling 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. 5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? 6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter--when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. 11 The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. 12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. 13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, 14 then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Matthew chapters 6 and 7 (NRSV):

6:1* “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2* “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3* But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5* “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6* But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7* “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8* Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9* “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10* Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11* Give us this day our daily bread. 12* And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13* And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. 14* For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; 15 but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 16* “And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17* But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18* so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19* “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22* “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23* but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24* “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. 25* “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26* Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27* And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? 28* And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, 29* yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. 30* But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? 31* Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32* For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33* But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34* “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today. 7:1* “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. 2* For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 3* Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 4* Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? 5* You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. 6* “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. 7* “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8* For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9* Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? 10* Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? 11* If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! 12* “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. 13* “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14* For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15* “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16* You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17* In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18* A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19* Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20* Thus you will know them by their fruits. 21* “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22* On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23* Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ 24* “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25* The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26* And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27* The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!” 28* Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.