Who and whose I am

“Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to  fight
and to hit with wicked fist,
Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice
to be heard on high.
Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a man to humble himself?  
Is it to bow down his head like a rush,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?

Is not this the fast that I choose:
     To loose the bonds of wickedness,
     To undo the thongs 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 him,
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
And your healing shall spring up speedily;
Your righteousness shall go before you,
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answerl
You shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.”

-  Isaiah 58:4-9, RSV


On Ash Wednesday, we remember who we are and whose we are.

For catholics like me, we recall our humble beginnings—from the dirt of creation, God showed His love for mankind by creating us in His own image and breathing on us His own Spirit.  Created in love and for love, in pale imitation of the perfect relationship and companionship of love that is shared by the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

This Ash Wednesday, I recall who I am and whose I am.  I am Ted, God’s creation and precious in His sight.  (Isaiah 43:4, RSV).  Created in love and bound by God to love.  

On this Ash Wednesday, in the year of P.P. 1017 and G.O. 5, I take to heart the words of the Prophet Isaiah:  

Is not this the fast that I choose:
          To loose the bonds of wickedness,
          To undo the thongs of the yoke,
          To let the oppressed go free,
          And to break every yoke?