Day 5: Bring
“Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?”
The kind of fast God is asking for is one where we bring the homeless poor into the house—to provide a place of safety and security.
This request of God is a challenge to our comfort and security. Our home is our sanctuary. Our home contains all that is precious to us, but remember every soul is eternally precious to God. This request takes prayer and discernment. Maybe the person you gave food to is the one to invite into your home to serve a meal to. Talk with them and hear their story. Allow the compassion of Jesus to pour over your heart and flavor your speech. Eat with them, for this day is not a fast of food but a fast of comfort and ease.
The Hebrew word for homeless, in this passage, finds deeper understanding in the idea of restlessness, straying, or wandering. A heart can be homeless. Consider an orphan, a refugee as homeless.
Sincerely, take time and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the deep needs of those in your daily world. Could there be one person who is lost, seeking, alone? Is there someone you know who is a wanderer through life? Is there someone at work you know who seems isolated and without family or friends?
It is too easy in our culture to remain in a safe space. We have our home, apartment, our place of rest – that’s good. We go to and from work, or church, or our usual grocery store. If we are not careful we build a world that avoids the homeless. We can avoid, give up our comfort, or withhold our time, in spaces where desperation is on display.
“Allow the compassion of Jesus to pour over your heart and flavor your speech.”
“Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (that is, the Son of Timaeus), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’ So they called to the blind man, ‘Cheer up! On your feet He’s calling you.’” Mark 10:46-52
The most pressing purpose Jesus had was His journey to the cross. But on the way he stopped for a homeless wanderer; the man who had nothing but the ragged clothes on his back and Jesus invited him into a place called freedom.
Challenge yourself to look and listen. It is easy to keep walking and avoid the issues crying out all around you. Is there someone in your life you can invite into your space, your world, and offer them hope?
