In the rather obscure Old Testament book of Zechariah, the Hebrew people are on the verge of rebuilding the temple.  For years, the people fasted and prayed on a regularly scheduled basis.  Now, with completion in sight, the town of Bethel sent men to the Prophet Zechariah to ask if the fasting needed to continue.  "Shall we weep in the fifth month and abstain as we have done all these years?"

Perhaps some in the crowd really wanted to 'get it right' and not miss what God was calling them to do next, but I've got to believe that many of the people there were hoping to be off the hook from this fasting thing for a while.  "Now that the Temple's almost complete," they asked, "Can we eat any time we want again?  Fasting's a real downer."  I also believe that if Zechariah had said yes, they needed to continue fasting they would have done it, but not necessarily joyfully.  Religious people look for religious do's and don't's when practicing their religion.

But Zechariah, like his Messiah to follow often did, ignored the direct question and cut to the heart of the matter instead.  He said, "When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months, was it for me you were fasting?"  I other words, if you were sacrificing for your religious leaders, or to impress people, all that fasting was a waste of time.  They should have spent more time at the drive thru.  Then Zechariah went on to say," Practice true justice and kindness and compassion...Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor, and do not devise evil in your hearts against each other."  He said, in essence, stop asking about religious rituals and laws and start living as if you really knew and followed God. 

The saddest part of the story, though, is what happens next. "They refused to pay attention, turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing.  They made their hearts like flint."  For 70 years they proved they could follow rules and practice rituals.  I believe, had they been required, they would have followed these for another 70, though perhaps grudgingly.  But when commanded, instead, to love the poor with the love of God, they walked away with wounded pride and a chip on their shoulders.  Their hearts, instead of being temples for the Spirit of God Himself, were 'as flint':  cold, hard and lifeless.  May this never be the case for me and my household!