OBSERVANCE:

Noon, or when you normally eat lunch

FOCUS:

Sext focuses on the discipline of Lent, specifically fasting.

SCRIPTURE READING:

Isaiah 58:6-12

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Isn’t this the fast I choose:

releasing wicked restraints, untying the ropes of a yoke,

setting free the mistreated,

and breaking every yoke?

Isn’t it sharing your bread with the hungry

and bringing the homeless poor into your house,

covering the naked when you see them,

and not hiding from your own family?

Then your light will break out like the dawn,

and you will be healed quickly.

Your own righteousness will walk before you,

and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

you will cry for help, and God will say, “I’m here.”

If you remove the yoke from among you,

the finger-pointing, the wicked speech;

if you open your heart to the hungry,

and provide abundantly for those who are afflicted,

your light will shine in the darkness,

and your gloom will be like the noon.

The Lord will guide you continually

and provide for you, even in parched places.

He will rescue your bones.

You will be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water that won’t run dry.

They will rebuild ancient ruins on your account;

the foundations of generations past you will restore.

You will be called Mender of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Livable Streets.

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PRAYER & REFLECTION:

How is God inviting me to practice true fasting —not just from food, phone, or social media, but from self-indulgence, indifference, or distraction?

Who in my life needs mercy and compassion today?

BENEDICTION:

(Pray out loud with others, if you in a group setting)

"Lord, we fast not only with our bodies but with our hearts. Make us hunger for your righteousness, justice, and presence. As we empty ourselves, fill us with your Spirit."