the fast god chooses

so every now and again i fast, and i feel all spiritual and holy. maybe i have soy milk w/ my special k, and i feel pretty good about myself. but today i got slammed by a sermon tim keller preached about isaiah 58:

is not this the fast that i choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
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 them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

that stings. not only does my fasting from meat and dairy probably not even strain me very much – esp. in light of the surprisingly authentic tasting veggie dogs @ the vts lunch bar – but i’m not loosing bonds on anybody. ok, so i don’t live in palestine, but i can do more than blog about sabeel; i can most certainly give more than i do to the poor; and i can loose some of the bonds of oppression that i see all around me, even in my own life – oppression by addiction, by materialism, by the past, by the sins of pride, selfishness and lust. once i commit myself to these things,

then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the lord shall be your rearguard.
then you shall call, and the lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say,
here i am.

(quotes from isa. 58.6-9 nrsv)