Isaiah 58:1-12 "Shout with the voice of a trumpet blast. Tell my people Israel of their sins! 2Yet they act so pious! They come to the Temple every day and seem delighted to hear my laws. You would almost think this was a righteous nation that would never abandon its God. They love to make a show of coming to me and asking me to take action on their behalf. 3'We have fasted before you!' they say. 'Why aren't you impressed? We have done much penance, and you don't even notice it!' "I will tell you why! It's because you are living for yourselves even while you are fasting. You keep right on oppressing your workers. 4What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me. 5You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the Lord? 6"No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn. 7I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. 8"If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. 9Then when you call, the Lord will answer. 'Yes, I am here,' he will quickly reply. "Stop oppressing the helpless and stop making false accusations and spreading vicious rumors! 10Feed the hungry and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as day. 11The Lord will guide you continually, watering your life when you are dry and keeping you healthy, too. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. 12Your children will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as the people who rebuild their walls and cities. (NLT) Psalm 51:1-18 . L. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. C. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. L. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. C. For I recognize my shameful deeds—they haunt me day and night. L. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. C. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. L. For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. C. But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being. L. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. C. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me—now let me rejoice. L. Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. C. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. L. Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. C. Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. L. Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you. C. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. L. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that I may praise you. C. You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. L. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. C. The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise. L. Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. (NLT) The second lesson 2 Corinthians. 5:20-6:10 We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!" 21For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 6:1As God's partners, we beg you not to reject this marvelous message of God's great kindness. 2For God says, "At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, God is ready to help you right now. Today is the day of salvation. 3We try to live in such a way that no one will be hindered from finding the Lord by the way we act, and so no one can find fault with our ministry. 4In everything we do we try to show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5We have been beaten, been put in jail, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6We have proved ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, our sincere love, and the power of the Holy Spirit. 7We have faithfully preached the truth. God's power has been working in us. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves. 8We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. We live close to death, but here we are, still alive. We have been beaten within an inch of our lives. 10Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. (NLT) The Gospel Lesson Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 16 "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NIV)