29 Apr, 2009
Fasting for Justice
Reporter Jailed in Iran Passes Week on Fast
TEHRAN — The Iranian-American journalist imprisoned here since late January has become weak after seven days of a hunger strike, her father said Monday. Reza Saberi, the father of Roxana Saberi, who was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment this month on charges of spying for Washington, said his daughter had lost about 10 pounds. Mr. Saberi spoke after he and his wife, Akiko, visited her in prison on Monday, a day after her 32nd birthday.
Ms. Saberi started the hunger strike to protest her sentence and has demanded to be released. Her incarceration has become a new source of tension between Iran and the United States at a time when both countries have been making diplomatic overtures for improved relations after a 30-year estrangement. “She said she will continue her hunger strike until she is released,” Mr. Saberi said. “She drinks liquids but has refused to have food for seven days now.”
His daughter, who has worked as a journalist in Tehran for six years, was arrested in late January for buying a bottle of wine, which is illegal in Iran. The charges against her gradually escalated to working illegally without a press card and then spying for the United States. Her press card was revoked in 2006.
Ms. Saberi was in a good mood, her father said. Her parents have been allowed to visit her in jail every week. Ms. Saberi’s parents traveled to Iran from their home in Fargo, N.D., this month in an effort to secure her release.
They have asked Shirin Ebadi, the country’s prominent human rights lawyer and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to help. A colleague of Ms. Ebadi’s is expected to meet Ms. Saberi on Tuesday.
Iran’s judiciary chief has ordered an investigation into the case, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has urged the prosecutor to ensure Ms. Saberi will get a fair appeal.
story & photo courtesy of - The New York Times
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about fasting for justice?
All over the world people sit in prison for crimes they did not commit or for lawful behaviors that have been labeled "criminal" by tyrannical and oppressive states. Even in the U.S. faulty evidence, unjust laws, and insufficient legal aid have resulted in scores of innocent people spending time in prison. No state is immune from acting unjustly in executing "justice".
However the Kingdom of God, in which Jesus is President, is a nation of people that are called to not only practice God's perfect justice, but to sacrifice for it. The prophet Isaiah reminds us the that discipline of fasting is not only a personal, devotional act that teaches us to live on more than "bread alone", but that fasting also has powerful social implications. Isaiah says that we should live and fast with a purpose, that our personal devotion should transform us in such a way that we embody the values of the kingdom. Indeed this is the heart of the gospel and the heart of 3Story. That as we abide in Christ we become more like Christ so that we can share the chain loosening, yoke smashing, hungry feeding, naked clothing, homeless sheltering love of Jesus with all flesh and blood.
May you be so connected to Jesus, through fasting, prayer, abiding in scripture, that your life is a living witness to the beautiful justice of the Kingdom of God.
- Pray for all those in jail or prison
- Share some of your food with the hungry, donate to a food bank this week
- Ask your youth pastor or Campus Life director to organize a group fast to raise money for homelessness relief
- Tell your friends about today's story, talk with them about fasting for justice
- Invite a friend to join you in a week long fast from food, TV, Facebook, etc.
- March 2010 [6]
- February 2010 [19]
- January 2010 [22]
- December 2009 [22]
- November 2009 [21]
- October 2009 [22]
- September 2009 [21]
- August 2009 [20]
- July 2009 [21]
- June 2009 [22]
- May 2009 [18]
- April 2009 [15]
- March 2009 [7]
- February 2009 [17]
- January 2009 [20]
- December 2008 [23]
- November 2008 [19]
- October 2008 [22]
- September 2008 [22]
- August 2008 [19]
- July 2008 [22]
- June 2008 [11]
- May 2008 [20]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [18]
- January 2008 [20]
- December 2007 [18]
- November 2007 [15]
- October 2007 [19]
- September 2007 [18]
- August 2007 [12]
- July 2007 [12]
- June 2007 [9]
- May 2007 [11]
- April 2007 [10]
- March 2007 [11]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [7]
- December 2006 [4]
- November 2006 [13]
- October 2006 [17]
- September 2006 [11]
- August 2006 [16]
- July 2006 [10]
- June 2006 [3]
