₦airaland Forum

Today, 20th February, 2026 is Friday after Ash Wednesday. The theme for our reflection is the worship that offends the heavens.

The passage of scripture from Isaiah 58:1-9 that we read today is one of the most unsettling passages in all of scripture.

The passage paints the picture of a people who want God to be present in their lives, to pay attention to their sacrifices and the spiritual observances that they carry out. God says yes. Even though he is present and sees all their religious activities and devotional practices, he's not impressed.

Indeed, the people prayed, they fasted, they humbled themselves, they afflicted their bodies, yet God said, "Fasting like yours will never make your voice heard on high."

Why is God so unimpressed and cold towards them? Because God refuses to bless whatever is not rooted in love. Because their fasting never touched their neighbors, it never had a positive impact on their well-being. They humbled themselves before God, yet remained indifferent to the suffering around them.

Isaiah exposes a brutal truth to us. Piety that does not soften the heart, hardens the conscience. They fasted, yet they oppressed their workers. They prayed, yet ignored the poor. They abstained from food yet consumed one another with greed, gossip and cruelty. Their devotion was like a theatrical performance in which mercy was absent. Their worship was a show. Their hearts remained cold towards their neighbors
plight.

So God asked a rhetorical question. Is that the sort of fast that pleases me?

That was meant to tell us that not every sacrifice pleases God. Some sacrifices and gifts merely soothe guilty consciences and do not arise from genuine love and desire to make the world a better place. True fasting, true worship begins where God is in the heart and in the lives of people. It begins with loosening chains, breaking yokes, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, advocating for the oppressed, and restoring justice where it has been denied.

Fasting that does not lead to transformation of life is empty. Like a drum that makes noise but carries no rhythm. It signals devotion produces no change.

However, Isaiah did not leave Israel in despair. He promised. "Then your light will shine like the dawn".

Light is delayed not because God is absent, but because obedience is partial. When mercy is withheld, the radiance of the soul goes dim. You may wear ashes on your forehead, but if your hands are closed, your words unkind, your eyes blind to injustice, the dawn will remain distant.

True life demands action. True worship demands justice. True fasting must change not only your body but your life.

Consider the reality in many of the cities including our Lagos. The office worker who prays for blessings on Monday
but does not mind cheating a taxi driver on Wednesday. A politician or civil servant who makes a public show of fasting and prayers but does not bat an eyelid in converting public funds to private purse especially funds meant for
social services and utilities. The wealthy merchant who gives assistance to people for social media applause while ignoring families even his own family members who are starving just outside his gated estate. The students who post scripture quotes online but turn their faces away from classmates suffering in silence.

How often do we offer devotion yet ignore injustice towards others?

A fast that ignores the poor starves the soul. God is not moved by hunger that produces no mercy. Worship that bypasses justice eventually offends heaven.

Lord rescue our spirituality from hypocrisy, move our hands to act, our mouths to speak, and our lives to serve. Let our
lives shine not for vanity, not for applause, not for self-satisfaction, but because love has moved us, mercy has guided us, and obedience has directed
us.

Today is Friday. We have stations of the cross in all our parishes. We encourage you to make an effort to participate in this pious act.

And may the Almighty God bless you as you go about your tasks today in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sikiruy31:
May God accept our prayers this month.

naptu2:
Stations of the Cross.

Wednesdays and Fridays.

Seeplusplus:
Christians are so confused and divided.

Reason why I stopped following all these religious bullshit

Pootle:
you dont need to deprive yourself of food to have sense.

the only thing i see in the holy book that make sense is LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS THY SELF if you like do all the fasting of all religion and you cant follow that law then you useless

Pootle:
you dont need to deprive yourself of food to have sense. The only thing i see in the holy book that make sense is LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS YOURSELF if you like do all the fasting of all religion and you cant follow that law then you useless.